An increasing number of aid agencies are initiating mitigating the impact of greenhouse gas emissions as well as alleviating the suffering of the economically weak communities. These projects might put to rest a major concern associated with carbon offsetting schemes – that they do not address the needs of the poor, who are worst affected by climate change.
For instance, the (NEF) along with the (IIED) are planning projects that will not only fight global warming by propagating the use of renewables but also invest in the weaker sections to help them cope with the ill-effects of climate change: teaching them how to swim to tackle floods, providing drought-resistant cashew trees to build an income stream etc.
Saleemul Huq of IIED says:
“It connects me with a human being at the other end of the world who’s being affected by my pollution, and I then invest in that person”
Agencies such as are also working towards increasing the transparency of offset projects. Through its initiative, it’s trying to fight climate change as well as poverty. Moreover,
“People can look at the progress of the projects online, and this should give them more faith that their money is going somewhere tangible, with more of a connection to those they are helping” says Betsy Joseph of Mercy Corps.
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