Linking Climate Change Financing and Sustainability: Implications for Agriculture

This analytical report, building on a range of lessons learned in the climate policy arena, examines how stronger sustainability criteria and a wider focus on payment for ecosystem services can provide the pathway to significantly increase the amount of climate financing directed towards the agricultural sector for sustainable development. In particular, it points out that, in order to effectively couple climate financing with strong and measurable sustainable development criteria, there is a need to move beyond carbon as a standalone tradeable commodity, by increasingly valuing the significant range of additional ecosystem and socio-economic services provided by sustainable agriculture practices and programmes that simultaneously address climate concerns and sustainable rural development priorities.