Waste Pickers and Carbon Finance: Issues to Consider - WIEGO

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Executive SummaryWIEGO Technical Brief (Urban Policies) N o 7Carbon finance has been cited as a potential source of income for membership-based organizations(MBOs) of informal waste pickers. However, it is important to understand issues related to carbon offsettrading before proceeding. Some of the main issues arising from this research into the feasibility of MBOspursuing carbon finance include:• The development of carbon offset projects is complex, technical, and costly, and it would be beyond thecapacity of many waste picker MBOs to develop, and possibly manage, these types of projects withoutexternal support.• There are technical issues around “additionality” that some waste picker MBOs, due to the contexts inwhich they work, may not be able to overcome.• The market for carbon credits is weak, which has implications for the commercial viability of new carbonoffset projects.• Important ethical issues surround carbon finance that MBOs may want to take into consideration.• Other potential sources of income may be more straightforward for waste picker MBOs to pursue, includingpublic and private climate funding and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) arrangements.• MBOs should also be proactive in relation to the development of the Green Climate Fund as a potentialfuture source of funding, in pursuing waste management contracts with municipal authorities, andinvesting in innovation.A Word about the Naming DebateThe millions of people worldwide who make a living collecting, sorting, recycling, and selling materials thatsomeone else has thrown away are referred to by many different terms in different regions. These includescavengers, recyclers, reclaimers, ragpickers, binners, and waste pickers. At the First World Conferenceof Waste Pickers, held in Colombia in 2008, a provisional consensus was reached to use the generic term“waste picker” in English (but, in specific contexts, to use the term preferred by the local waste pickingcommunity). While an international consensus is still to be reached among activists, waste specialists,MBOs and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the term waste pickers has been adopted and put intouse by WIEGO as a useful generic term that suits the purposes of current global networking. In the contextswhere specific terms have been agreed upon WIEGO uses the local term.– Sonia Maria Dias, WIEGO’s Waste Picker Specialist1
WIEGO Technical Brief (Urban Policies) N o 7IntroductionMembership-based organizations (MBOs) of informal workers share an interest in building organizationalcapacity and sustainability, and improving the livelihoods of their members. Some informal waste pickerMBOs in the global South, and those that work in partnership with them, have shown an interest in exploringthe feasibility of these MBOs accessing carbon finance, and whether this is a realistic and appropriatefunding option.The purpose of this research is to clarify the requirements for carbon finance mechanisms, to provide anassessment of whether informal waste picker MBOs in the global South can reasonably meet these requirements,and the potential investments needed to successfully secure carbon financing. This documentpresents information related to the feasibility of these MBOs accessing carbon finance through the CleanDevelopment Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UN-FCCC), the voluntary carbon market and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).While this report presents some ethical issues raised by key informants and in the literature, it does notmake judgements about the ethics of carbon finance or carbon offset trading. That is a debate for thoseconsidering carbon finance as an income source and beyond the scope of this research. This report alsodoes not make a judgement as to whether or not specific, or any, MBOs should pursue involvement in carbonoffset trading, because that is ultimately a decision for their membership. Finally, this report does notreiterate the debate about the merits of recycling over incineration and waste-to-energy schemes, as thathas been dealt with thoroughly elsewhere and many waste picker MBOs and their allies oppose the issuingof carbon credits to incineration facilities. Rather, this report is an effort at presenting some of the mostsalient issues that should be considered by MBOs and their partners when deciding whether to pursuecarbon finance.MethodologyThis research was undertaken in two phases. In the first phase, a review of background materials relatedto carbon finance architecture and requirements was complemented with key informant interviews. Thefindings from this phase were used to prepare interview questions and a document entitled “BackgroundInformation on Carbon Finance for Waste Pickers.” 1The interview questions and “background document” were circulated to selected informal solid waste managementstakeholders, with Spanish translations prepared and circulated as appropriate. These stakeholderswere then interviewed regarding the information presented in the “background document” on requirementsfor carbon finance and in relation to the following questions:• What do you think of the requirements?• Do you think that your organization (or your partner organizations) would be interested in getting involvedin carbon emissions trading? If yes, why? If no, why not?• Do you think that your organization has (or your partner organizations have) the capacity and resourcesnow to develop a carbon offset project?• What type of support would your organization (or your partner organizations) need?• What do you think would be the advantages and disadvantages of getting involved in carbon emissionstrading?• What would your organization (or your partner organizations) like to do with money earned from sellingcarbon credits?1Please see Appendix 1.2
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Waste Pickers and Carbon Finance: Issues to Consider - WIEGO

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