What is Fairtrade’s role at COP17?

by Bill Corcoran, freelance journalist

Fairtrade can play an important role in shaping the world’s developing carbon markets and other forms of climate finance because the organisation touches the lives of millions of food producers around the globe, Fairtrade International CEO Rob Cameron told climate talk delegates in Durban this week.

During a joint discussion seminar with the Dutch church organisation ICCO on how to make climate finance work for the poor, Cameron said Fairtrade was perfectly positioned to give small scale farmers a voice.

‘Fairtrade is a system that can bring many different parties together to work on climate change issues, such as how small farmers can adapt to climate change and benefit from the carbon market,’ he said in a key note address.

Carlos Vargas, producer representative from COOPETRABASUR, Costa Rica, said it was essential that fairness existed in the carbon market when it came to the small scale producer, because at present it was skewed towards those participating in it purely for commercial reasons. He added that many small scale producers were living a low carbon lifestyle, but were not rewarded for it.

‘Small-scale farmers want to get involved in the carbon trading market but at this point it is just an illusion to them. I would say 98 percent of them have no idea how to access it. For them to find out they must hire an expensive consultant, which is impossible,’ he said.

Speakers participating in the seminar on the sidelines of the United Nation’s climate change negotiations (COP17) told delegates that more pro-poor carbon financing initiatives needed to be developed to overcome this obvious injustice.

Fair Climate Network Southern Africa described how it was implementing carbon projects for the sustainable development of poor communities that involved developing small-scale efficient energy solutions, such as efficient cooking stoves that used half the amount of fuel than traditional stoves.

Fairtrade was also looking at the role it plays in the food production supply chain to garner knowledge to deliver effective climate change support, said Toby Quantrill, Head of Public Policy at Fairtrade Foundation UK.

‘We are looking into the possibility of investment in climate change adaptation and mitigation projects by retailers that are involved in our supply chains, and there is increasing interest in this as an option in the UK.

‘There are opportunities in the agriculture supply chain to reduce carbon emissions and vulnerability amongst small-scale producers in terms of catering to their adaptation needs. We can connect large retailers to the producers so they can achieve this,’ he said.