KfW presents new initiative to sequester CO2

• WALD Initiative mobilises private finance for nature-based climate protection
• Focus on new and biodiverse forests
• Innovation combines climate action and biodiversity conservation

At the Hamburg Sustainability Conference (HSC), KfW on behalf of the German Federal Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). presented a new initiative for innovative climate protection: the WALD Initiative. It helps to sequester CO2 from the atmosphere and store it long-term. WALD stands for “Worldwide Alliance for Landscape-based Decarbonization”. It uses various funding approaches to mobilize private capital for the expansion of natural carbon sinks. The focus is on new and biodiverse forests. The initiative combines the mitigation of climate change and the preservation of biodiversity.

Effective mitigation of climate change not only means drastically reducing emissions but also binding CO2 from the atmosphere and storing it in the long term.

In this regard forests, mangroves, or peatlands, offer great potential as carbon sinks. However, in particular forests are under pressure. Their function as an additional carbon sink, currently counterbalancing large amounts of our CO2 emission, is declining globally.

The WALD Initiative creates incentives for the private sector to invest in newly created natural carbon sinks.

Christiane Laibach, Member of the KfW Executive Board:

“Nature is our most valuable asset and is under great pressure. Mobilising additional financing is of great importance in order to expand natural carbon sinks. The WALD Initiative combines climate and biodiversity protection and creates opportunities for private investments.”

The first international project launched is the WALD Innovation Facility. The project supports forward-looking approaches with great potential to create additional carbon sinks and which have a positive impact on biodiversity. It will focus on activities that leverage on carbon markets but do not yet receive sufficient funding due to their innovative nature. For example, this will include climate action related to mangroves or peatlands. Furthermore, the Innovation Facility promotes new approaches regarding the monitoring of biodiversity. The project is implemented by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). For the initial phase, BMZ has provided EUR 9.0 million.