Project Facts
Location
Costa Rica, Ethiopia, Nepal, Uganda
Project Volume
1-5 Mio. EUR
Applied Financing Solutions
Grants, Carbon Market
Project Dates
Start: 2012
In operation since/from: 2015
The Story
BOKU – Austria’s University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences – has developed a unique carbon compensation fund focusing on small-scale projects with considerable social impact to effectively contribute to CO2 mitigation and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Whereas most conventional CO2 certification schemes do not work for projects below 10,000 tons of CO2 per year (due to the complex technical and funding requirements), the innovative BOKU Carbon Fund supports local communities in less developed countries to develop such small-scale carbon mitigation projects, which at a later stage can be scaled-up and advanced as e.g. a Gold Standard project. All BOKU’s mitigation projects, such as afforestation in Costa Rica or biomass composting in Ethiopia, are firmly rooted in academic institutions or the relevant authorities on site and continuously supervised; climate and SDG impacts are monitored every 3-5 years. Project implementation and findings are integrated into teaching and research activities both in Austria and the host countries.
Success Factor | Hero Moment
An important success factor for the implemented projects is their focus on the active involvement of the local communities and participatory planning methods addressing all relevant stakeholder groups. In this context, a special focus is placed on gender aspects. The close institutional and personnel connection of the BOKU Carbon Fund to the university contributes greatly to its credibility. The high attractiveness for companies and private individuals wishing to offset their CO2 emissions has already made it possible to fully finance some projects over their entire 30-year period.
Submitter
University of Natural Resources Vienna (BOKU), Austria
Contact Mail
co2.kompensation@boku.ac.at
