The weekend before the UN June Climate meetings, representatives from the different Fastenaktion international partners participated in the Climate Advocacy Group (CAG) in-person workshop held in Bonn, Germany. Throughout the one-day workshop, Atty. Jayvy Gamboa and Engr. Gab Mesina from the Manila Observatory engaged with a diverse network of community-based organizations that are part of the International Programme of Fastenaktion.
A cheerful attendance for the day was made up of Swiss, Brazilians, Filipinos, and a Colombian. These partners represent a wide spectrum of grassroots efforts all over the globe. Aside from Manila Observatory, The Native Amazon Operation (OPAN) and Institute for Socioeconomic Studies (INESC) from Brazil with Friends of the Earth Colombia (CENSAT) from Colombia were the organizations in attendance. Fastenaktion, a Swiss catholic organization advocating for a more just world without hunger, served as the host and facilitators. The workshop provided a space for dialogue, collaboration, and the sharing of best practices and experiences among participants.
The workshop revolved around the concept of Carbon markets under Article 6.2, 6.4, and 6.6 of the Paris Agreement. Article 6.2 tackles carbon trading between nations through bilateral and multilateral agreements. 6.4 establishes an international carbon market to be used between the private and public sectors. Meanwhile, Article 6.6 tackles the voluntary carbon market. The day opened with a quick discussion on Article 6 by Fastenaktion to refresh the participants on the various perspective on carbon trading. The rest of the day followed with insightful presentations from the different South American organizations, specifically on how carbon markets interact with land use (CENSAT), indigenous peoples (OPAN), and energy transition (INESC).
The Manila Observatory contributed to this sharing with a brief synthesis and reflection on the different carbon market work presented by the partners. This provided an opportunity for the MO attendees to better understand the work done by other partners and look into possible future work in carbon markets. The latter half of the workshop saw small discussion groups culminating in the processing of all the ideas on how to further develop engagements with Article 6-related projects and further collaboration between the participating organizations.
Overall, it was a fruitful and engaging workshop for all those involved. The experience fostered both learning and solidarity, and served as a meaningful opening to the upcoming two weeks of SB meetings.