Call for Expression of Interest
Region: Hivos East Africa
Office: Kenya
Application deadline: November 20, 2023.

Introduction

Hivos, alongside Akina Mama wa Afrika, Slumdwellers International, South South North and WWF is currently implementing the Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) program. The program aims to ensure that by 2025, local civil society and underrepresented groups will have taken on a central role as creators, facilitators and advocates of innovative climate solutions. Their inclusion is crucial for effective and lasting climate responses, and because the climate crisis is also a societal challenge with ethical and human rights aspects.

The overall approach of the program is to work with civil society to build wide societal support for locally shaped climate solutions through an inclusive and rights-based approach. This includes building a broad-based climate alliance at country level, bridging divides (urban-rural, gender, youth) that amplifies voices in new unusual ways. In addition, it will influence national and global policies and financial flows (e.g., climate finance, private sector investments) in support of these locally shaped solutions.

Background of task

Carbon markets and carbon finance are two mechanisms that aim to mobilize financial resources to support low-carbon development and climate action in the Global South. However, their impact on public climate finance flows is not straightforward and depends on various factors, such as the design of the market rules, the quality of the carbon credits, the level of ambition of the mitigation targets, and the availability of complementary sources of funding etc. Furthermore, carbon markets have also been criticized for causing injustices, such as environmental, social, and economic harms, to vulnerable communities and countries.

Nonetheless, in the build up towards the 28^th Conference of Parties (COP28) in UAE, a lot of emphasis have has been put forward to activate carbon markets through such platforms as the Africa Climate Summit, the Africa Climate Week, the United Nations General Assembly and finally, the just concluded Middle East and North Africa Climate Week without a clear and most critical analysis of the impact this might have on public climate finance flows as enshrined in article 9 of the Paris Agreement.

In view of this, Hivos, through Voices for Just Climate Action, is looking for a consultant or a team of consultants to carry out research and produce an analytical research paper and policy brief on the impact of carbon markets and carbon finance on public climate finance flows in the Global South – with particular emphasis on countries seen/viewed to have an increasing interest in carbon markets and finance as Kenya, Mozambique, Gambia, Brazil, Indonesia and Ghana.

While the research is to provide an overview of the Global South countries, Kenya, Mozambique, Gambia, Brazil, Indonesia and Ghana will be used to focus the research. Consequently, the team must have representation in at least 3 of the countries listed. The findings and recommendations of this study will be used for lobbying, advocacy and influencing the key stakeholders including developed parties/countries, philanthropists and private sector to divest from carbon markets and carbon finance to public climate finance streams under the VCA program. The same will also be used to inform global south country governments of other potential just and equitable financing instruments and mechanisms worth reconnoitering.

The assignment

We are looking for a team of researchers with an in depth understanding of among others, the climate change context of the global south, global climate finance architecture and flows, climate justice, carbon markets and carbon finance. The task is to – through a number of methods and or approaches – analyze the impacts of carbon markets and carbon finance on public climate finance flows in the Global South with an aim of fleshing out potential threats this may have on or to climate action.

The key stakeholders we are keen to understand their standpoints on this specific topic include but are not limited to government representatives and policy makers (within and out of the relevant ministries such as Ministry of Environment, Economic Planning and Finance), the private sector, Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), think tanks, civil society organizations that have in-depth research on carbon markets/credits/finance and representatives of Indigenous people and local communities.

In order that the study is precise, succinct and tailored for its purpose, the following objectives will be used to guide the study and the consultants:

• To provide an in-depth understanding of dominant narratives about carbon markets and carbon finance amongst governments, private sector and Indigenous community representatives in the Global South vis-à-vis the same sectors in Global North countries, its beneficiaries, interphase with climate justice and environmental integrity as a mechanism to mobilizing climate finance.
• To authenticate the extent to which emission reductions under carbon markets are real, additional, and verifiable and the cost-effectiveness and overall benefits and or challenges of carbon markets in the context of public climate finance flows.
• To analyze the nature, value, regulations, risks, growth potential and adoption rates of compliance and voluntary carbon markets by both the global south and global north countries and the extent to which this shift and value of the pie (carbon markets and carbon finance value) would impact on public climate finance flows.
• To provide approaches and recommendations best placed to influence key stakeholders including developed parties/countries, philanthropists and private sector to divest from carbon markets and carbon finance to public climate finance streams (through presentation of quantitative and qualitative data, including case studies, to support the analysis. This should provide a clear understanding of how carbon markets have influenced public climate finance flows.)

Step 1: In-depth analysis of the issue (the analysis report)

The first step of this assignment will be to explore overall insights, trends and trajectory of carbon markets and carbon finance in the perspective of climate justice with the target audiences. The first step additionally consists of analyzing the equity and distributional aspects of carbon markets and carbon finance in Global South countries, including their impact on vulnerable communities. In undertaking this in-depth analysis, the consultants should aim to comprehensively answer the following questions:

• What are carbon markets and carbon finance? Who benefits from carbon markets? What is the environmental integrity of carbon finance mechanisms (including the extent to which emission reductions are real, additional, and verifiable) and what is the cost-effectiveness and overall benefits of carbon markets in the context of public climate finance flows?
• What are the current dominant narratives about carbon markets and carbon finance amongst governments, private sector and Indigenous community representatives in the Global South vis-à-vis the same sectors in global north countries?
• What are the historical trends, current practices, and potential future scenarios of carbon markets and carbon finance in comparison to public climate finance?
• How does carbon markets and carbon finance interphase with climate justice especially amongst the Indigenous people and local communities in the Global South?
• How do carbon markets and carbon finance impact public climate finance flows, especially following its prioritization at key and or monumental climate events globally like Africa Climate Week (ACW), Africa Climate Summit (ACS), United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and Middle East and North Africa Climate Week (MENA)?
• What approaches and recommendations will best influence the key stakeholders including developed parties/countries, philanthropists and private sector to divest from carbon markets and carbon finance to public climate finance streams?

Step 2: Summarized findings and recommendations on key approaches for influencing key stakeholders to invest in and or on public climate finance streams (The policy brief)

The second step of the assignment involves fleshing out, from the main report, key findings and recommendations and producing a bridged version of the report of not more than 10 pages to facilitate engagement with key policy makers and Global South climate negotiators on climate finance ahead of Conference of Parties, Regional Climate Weeks, the annual Africa Climate Summit, Africa Union Summits, Africa Ministerial Conference on Environment, Climate Change and Development in Africa Conference (CCDA) amongst others.

Deliverables

– An Analysis Paper on the impact of Carbon Markets and Carbon Finance on Public Climate Finance Flows in the Global South. In this analysis, some of the topics to be covered (though not exhaustive) would include:

1. Understanding carbon markets and carbon finance: This topic would entail grey and black and white literature on carbon markets and finance, dominant narratives about carbon markets and carbon finance amongst governments, private sector and Indigenous community representatives in the global south vis-à-vis the same sectors in global north countries, its beneficiaries, how it interphases with climate justice and environmental integrity as a mechanism to mobilizing climate finance.
2. Myths, misconceptions and truths about carbon markets and finance: This topic would encompass emission reductions authenticity under carbon markets, and the cost-effectiveness and overall benefits and or challenges of carbon markets and finance in the context of the global south.
3. The impacts of carbon markets and finance on public climate finance flows: Under this topic, the study shall provide, amongst others, an analysis of nature, value, regulations, risks, growth potential and adoption rates of compliance and voluntary carbon markets by both the Global South and Global North countries and the extent to which this shift and value of the pie (carbon markets and carbon finance value) would impact on public climate finance flows. Under regulations, the study will provide an in depth understanding of the kind of regulations and policies needed for activation of carbon markets and how the global north countries, think tanks, research entities etc. are influencing African policies to “shape up or shape out” and how African countries are fairing in this aspect. Under the nature and value of the markets and finance, the study will delve into providing a context of voluntary and compliance markets under carbon, their value, potential for growth, risks and adoption thus far. This will be used to evaluate how these markets may/would impact on public climate finance flows.
4. Summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations – under this topic, the study will provide summarized findings, approaches and recommendations best placed to influence key stakeholders including developed parties/countries, philanthropists and private sector to divest from carbon markets and carbon finance to public climate finance streams (through presentation of quantitative and qualitative data, including case studies, to support the analysis. This should provide a clear understanding of how carbon markets have influenced public climate finance flows.)

– A policy brief on the impact of carbon markets and carbon finance on public climate finance flows in the Global South (not more than 10 pages).

Timeframe

This assignment is expected to take a maximum of 3 months including planning with the Hivos team, finalizing methodologies, secondary and primary research including focus group discussions and key informant interviews.

Who can apply?

The research team should meet the following requirements:

• Have good understanding of climate change and the climate justice debate in the Global South
• Possess extensive experience and knowledge in climate finance, carbon markets and carbon finance
• Have networks and/or ability to access the groups targeted within this research including such stakeholders as key government policy makers, the Africa Development Bank, Financial Sector Deepening Africa – FSD Africa, key philanthropists amongst other stakeholders deemed important for this research.
• Have proven experience in using open-source data or creative approaches or ways to obtaining data including virtual tools to conducting stakeholder interviews.
• Experience in conducting research the African continent. Additional knowledge in other Global South countries outside Africa will be an added advantage.

Proposal

Please send a short Expression of Interest with the subject “EOI: Carbon Markets and Carbon Finance” to eastafricajobs@hivos.org by COB Monday November 20, 2023.

This should include a description of your team for the assignment, your understanding of the terms of reference, explanation of your methodology, budget and CVs that includes references and examples of similar research products. Please in your cost for this assignment; split professional and activity costs (in case of any).