Public Comments Sought on Latest Sector Criteria
Consultation Open till Oct 3rd. Send us your feedback!
Where can I find the Criteria?
There are 3 documents available for review, depending on how much detail you are interested in:
- A summary of the Criteria
- Criteria document containing the full requirements of the Criteria
- Background document containing the full requirements and the background research
Send all comments to Katie House or join one of our webinars to have your questions answered live – details and registration below.
What’s it all about?
Climate change is exacerbating the challenges faced by the agricultural sector, negatively affecting crops in many regions. Increases in temperatures, rainfall variation and the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events coupled with the rising demands for food are increasing the pressure on the global agriculture system.
Agriculture is also contributing a significant share of the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – 17% directly through agricultural activities and an additional 7% to 14% through land use changes. Various technical solutions exist that underscore the potential of the agriculture sector to be part of climate change mitigation and adaptation solutions.
One of these solutions is larger scale use of protected agriculture, which enable full or partial control of the micro-climate surrounding plants, allowing for optimization to plant requirements and protection from different environmental, biological, and climatological elements all factors in improving production.
Compared to open-field crop production, more precise and efficient use of nitrogen-based fertilizers in greenhouses ensures that a much higher percentage of the fertilizer reaches the plant, decreasing waste, lifting productivity, and significantly lowering emissions of nitrous oxide, a powerful GHG.
This is an extension of the previous development work the work on various Criteria under the broad heading of Land Use that has seen rollouts over 2017-2018 that include Forestry and Land Conservation & Restoration.
Why Mexico?
Mexico has seen dramatic growth and geographic expansion in the use of protected agriculture with greenhouse-based production rising from 790 hectares in 2000 to over 23,000 hectares in 2015, representing a compounded 25% annual growth rate over this period.
Future growth in horticultural greenhouses in Mexico will be influenced by the demand in the US market (the destination for an estimated 80% of greenhouse-based production) as well as the trade policy context.
These drivers have been complemented by business strategies focused on high-value export products, public recognition of the associated employment and foreign earnings benefits, and government subsidies designed to assist farmers in increasing their productivity and reducing their vulnerability to severe weather and numerous pathogens.
The Mexican government has also specified greenhouses and other forms of protected agriculture as part of their strategy to mitigate GHG emissions and to respond to chronic water stress and increased frequency of severe weather events.
Investor demand and green bonds
Investor interest in protected agriculture is likely to rise given increasing recognition of the growing demand for food produced in a sustainable and resilient manner.
Green bonds represent a viable financing strategy for horticultural greenhouse projects (e.g. installation, operation, maintenance, decommissioning). Investment opportunities need to be calibrated to specific geographic and sub-sectoral contexts with consideration of success factors such as socio-economic conditions, tenure arrangements, market access, and so on. These Criteria are specific to the Mexican context.
The Criteria
The Protected Agriculture Criteria aims to provide a clear, robust and science-based screening process to identify low carbon and climate resilient protected agriculture investments that are aligned with a 2°C target and address the conservation and sustainable use of land.
This means promoting
i) GHG mitigation through reduced emissions or increased carbon sequestration; and
ii) adaptation to climate change and facilitate increased climate resilience in the systems in which they are located.
The development of a widely-recognised set of Criteria will reduce transaction costs and improve transparency, ultimately encouraging more investment in this sector.
How long is the consultation period open for?
Public Consultation will start on September 3rd and close on October 3rd 2018. Please send your comments to Katie House.
Webinars
To hear the details of the Criteria and ask your questions live, join our webinar on:
Monday 17th September at 3pm (UK)
Speakers:
- Lawrence Pratt
- Enrique Nieto, IDB
- Ujala Qadir, Climate Bonds Initiative
Where can I find out more?
Review the requirements of the Protected Agriculture Criteria are available here.
‘Till next TIME,
Climate Bonds
