CARBON
ABOUT THE PROGRAMME
Intensifying climate challenges highlight just how much humans have altered the carbon cycle through the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Carbon dioxide (CO2) is being released into the atmosphere faster than it is being removed, accelerating global warming and intensifying the severe repercussions for people and ecosystems.
As worldwide emissions continue to grow, the ability of the world’s natural carbon sinks - forests, grasslands, seas and soils - to remove carbon from the atmosphere continues to decline.
We are racing towards a tipping point that threatens our very existence.
The Paris Climate Accord (COP 21) marshalled commitments from almost 200 countries to limit the global temperature increase in this century to 2℃ above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5℃ in order to avoid the most severe impacts of climate change. Limiting climate change, and mitigating these impacts, would require substantial and sustained reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The scale and urgency of the challenge ahead cannot be underestimated.
All of the ten countries in which Space for Giants operates have signed and ratified the Paris Climate Accord, committing focus, funding and resources for projects and initiatives that assist them in achieving national targets. This is why our work is so critical.
By protecting and growing natural landscapes such as forests and savannah grasslands, Space for Giants’ carbon projects increase their ability to absorb carbon from the atmosphere. Independent organisations monitor the precise amounts of carbon absorbed, which are then sold in the form of CO2 reduction units on the carbon market. Corporates and other emitters that have measured their carbon footprint, then buy these to ‘offset’ their own emissions. This creates a sustainable and ongoing income stream that is used to fund the running and development costs of these landscapes.
How do we do this?
1) Secure political buy in
Using our Giants Club as a vehicle for change by linking together political leaders, philanthropists and business leaders working together to support the conservation of Africa’s most important natural ecosystems. Current Presidents of the Giants Club include the Heads of State of Botswana, Gabon, Kenya, Mozambique, Rwanda and Uganda.
2) Build enabling investment environment
3) Established partnerships to offer best in class carbon expertise
4) Hands-on management
5) Quality of projects
Impact
Space for Giants is the first nonprofit African based conservation organization to achieve both The Carbon Neutral International Standard and the UN Climate Neutral Now Initiative participation by measuring, reducing and offsetting our carbon footprint.
Protecting biodiversity at scale, helping combat the species extinction crisis
Preventing wildlife from entering the illegal wildlife trade
Supporting livelihoods of local people and wider countries
Maintaining ecosystem services for sustainable development
Combating climate change by protecting carbon sinks
Supporting African governments to effectively and efficiently find and manage protected area networks
“ANAC is delighted with the progress made under this collaboration, highly valuing its partnership with Space for Giants, who have added huge value in achieving the objectives of the Business Unit and thus contribute to pave the way to build a sustainable and robust conservation economy in Mozambique."
- MATEUS MUTEMBA, Director General, ANAC Mozambique
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