Join Us at SB64: Grassroots Perspectives on Carbon Markets
As governments move forward with implementing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, carbon markets are increasingly being promoted as a key climate solution. Yet communities living in areas where carbon offset projects are implemented often tell a very different story.
On 15 June 2026, the Global Forest Coalition will join partners including the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC), Carbon Market Watch, Namati, the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development, and IBON International for a side event at the UN climate negotiations in Bonn:
Grassroots Perspectives on Carbon Markets: Unpacking Impact and Engagement
📅 Monday, 15 June 2026
🕒 15:00–16:15
📍 Kaminzimmer, Bonn Climate Change Conference (SB64)
The event will bring together community representatives, grassroots organisers, researchers, and civil society advocates to examine the real-world impacts of carbon market projects and discuss how affected communities can engage with, challenge, and influence carbon market processes.
Representing the Global Forest Coalition, Kwami Kpondzo will present findings from recent research into the first carbon credits issued under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement. His presentation will explore serious concerns surrounding a cookstove carbon offset project implemented in conflict-affected Myanmar, including questions of human rights, governance, verification, and the credibility of emissions reduction claims.
Speakers will also share experiences from the Philippines, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zimbabwe, Colombia, and other countries, highlighting recurring issues such as land rights violations, failures to secure Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), weak accountability mechanisms, and inequitable benefit-sharing.
The discussion will explore a broader question: do carbon markets deliver genuine climate action, or do they allow major polluters to avoid making the deep emissions reductions needed while shifting burdens onto communities in the Global South?
If you are attending the Bonn climate negotiations, we invite you to join us for this important conversation on climate justice, community rights, and the future of international carbon markets.
