The World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) is a global partnership of governments, businesses, civil society, and Indigenous Peoples' (IPs) organizations 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 has worked with 47 developing countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean, along with 17 donors that have made contributions and commitments totaling US$1.3 billion.  

FCPF Programs

• Since 2008, the FCPF has provided technical assistance to 47 developing countries to prepare them to implement REDD+ at national level. This includes developing national REDD+ strategies, designing measurement, reporting, and verification systems, and setting up national REDD+ management arrangements, including proper environmental and social safeguards. Based on the progress made, 15 countries were selected to advance into the FCPF Carbon Fund to pilot results-based payments for verifiable emission reductions (ERs) in their forest and broader land-use sectors.

Emission Reductions Payment Agreements

• The World Bank’s FCPF Carbon Fund pays participant countries on a results basis in accordance with Emission Reductions Payment Agreements (ERPAs) for producing verified emission reductions. The FCPF’s 15 ERPAs are underpinned by ambitious emission reductions programs led by jurisdictions (provinces or states), with a total area of 111 million hectares – roughly the size of South Africa. These programs are aligned with World Bank investments to cover the necessary capacity and resource needs to design and implement these systems and emission reductions programs, known as the ‘missing middle’.

On top of reducing carbon emissions and improving governance across forests and land rich in tropical rainforests and biodiversity, the Carbon Fund program seeks to improve communities’ livelihoods and reduce poverty. The 15 ERPAs jointly aim to reduce 145 million tons of greenhouse gases while delivering US$721 million to the countries achieving these emission reductions.