Forest Carbon Partnership Facility

Organization Profile:

The Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples focused on reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, forest carbon stock conservation, the sustainable management of forests, and the enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries, activities commonly referred to as REDD+. 

Launched in 2008, the FCPF works with 47 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, along with 17 donors that have made contributions and commitments totaling $1.3 billion. 
The FCPF supports REDD+ efforts through two separate but complementary funds:

• The FCPF Readiness Fund helps countries set up the building blocks to implement REDD+. This includes designing national REDD+ strategies, developing reference emission levels, designing measurement, reporting, and verification systems and setting up national REDD+ management arrangements, including proper environmental and social safeguards. 
• The FCPF Carbon Fund pilots results-based payments to countries that have advanced through REDD+ readiness and implementation and have achieved verifiable emission reductions in their forest and broader land-use sectors.

The FCPF is administered by the World Bank.

Financing Instruments: Loans, Grants, Technical Assistance

Project Scale: 

As of fiscal year 2022, Readiness Fund grant disbursements were as high as US$ 3.8 million per country participant, with additional funding available of up to US$5 million. Signed Emissions Reductions Payment Agreements through the Carbon Fund envision results-based payments ranging from US$ 12.5 million to US$ 110 million for individual countries, based on expected emissions reductions.

Recipient countries/ regions/country groups: Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Pacific

Recipient categories: Governments

Eligibility Criteria:

Readiness activities include:

• Adopting national REDD+ strategies
• Developing reference emission levels (RELs)
• Designing measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems
• Setting up environmental and social safeguards

A REDD+ Country Participant is a developing country located in a subtropical or tropical area that has signed a Participation Agreement to participate in the Readiness Fund. Forty-seven developing countries have been selected to join the FCPF (18 in Africa, 18 in Latin America, and 11 in the Asia-Pacific region).

Application Guidelines:

The first step for countries interested in the Readiness Fund is to submit a Readiness Plan Idea Note to the FCPF. The next step is for selected countries to prepare their Readiness Plan, which is a framework for a country to define a clear approach, budget and schedule to undertake REDD+ activities. The FCPF's governing body reviews and assesses Readiness Plans and decides on the allocation of FCPF grants to countries. Readiness activities must involve a high degree of consultation with civil society and indigenous peoples’ organizations. Indigenous peoples and other forest dwellers play a central role as stewards of tropical forests. It is critical that governments set up participatory mechanisms to ensure that they are meaningfully consulted during the formulation and implementation of Readiness Plans and REDD+ Strategies, and that they benefit from capacity building and future financial incentives.

The Carbon Fund Process consists of the following steps:

1. ER Program Idea Note (ER-PIN) submitted by REDD+ country or authorized entity
2. ER-PINs reviewed and accepted into pipeline by Carbon Fund participants and the World Bank
3. Letter of Intent signed by REDD+ country/ authorized entity and World Bank
4. Draft ER Program Document (ERPD) prepared by REDD+ country/ authorized entity with technical support from the World Bank
5. ERPD submitted by REDD+ country/ authorized entity
6. ERPD reviewed and selected by Carbon Fund participants and World Bank
7. Emission Reductions Payment Agreement (ERPA) negotiated and signed
8. ERPD implementation, verification and payments

Last updated: 14 September 2023