Episode 10: Mobilizing Private Sector Finance for Tropical Forest Countries with Eron Bloomgarden, Executive Director and Co-Founder @ Emergent

Solving Climate, Naturally

In this episode, we speak with Eron Bloomgarden of Emergent, a non-profit designed to channel large flows of private capital into protecting the world’s tropical forests. In 2021 Emergent launched the LEAF Coalition, which works with jurisdictions (countries or large states) on the supply side of REDD+ carbon credits, and large corporates on the buy-side, to provide forward purchase agreements. Donor countries - the US, UK, and Norway - act as buyers of last resort. To date, the LEAF Coalition has raised over $1 billion in funding for forest protection. Eron brings two decades of carbon markets experience to the conversation. He shares his unique perspective on how carbon markets have evolved, and what’s still needed today.

In this episode, we touch on:

History of carbon markets, from the more top-down Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), to the more bottom-up Paris Agreement, to present day

Rapid ramp-up of the voluntary carbon market over the last 18-24 months, and institutional catch-up

Emergent’s LEAF Coalition connecting corporates with jurisdictional REDD+ carbon credits through forward purchase agreements

ART’s TREES standard for jurisdictional crediting, and why this was developed

Ins and outs of developing a jurisdictional-level REDD+ programme and how LEAF connects the dots between buyers and suppliers

Want to learn more? Check out these resources:

Emergent

TREES: The REDD+ Environmental Excellence Standard

EDF announcement regarding LEAF at COP26 in Glasgow

What’s next for the LEAF coalition

News and views from the LEAF coalition and Emergent

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Episode recorded on: January 28, 2022