The Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) supported the development and implementation of various scaled-up crediting programs across sectors and countries to reduce GHG emissions.
The Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) was established in 2009 as a partnership of buyers and sellers of carbon credits, with around $130 million under management. The CPF employs scaled-up, programmatic approaches to enable carbon finance to support partner country initiatives to move toward low-carbon economies. The CPF brings together industrial country buyers and developing country sellers of emission reductions, as well as developing and donor country governments. The partnership promotes shared decision-making and opportunities for sharing carbon finance experience and knowledge. The CPF facilitates development of emission reduction programs and creation of carbon assets across an array of sectors and technologies - including energy generation and distribution, transport, and waste management - in situations where governments need policy measures or investments.
Established in 2009, the Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) served as a partnership of buyers and sellers of carbon credits for the post-2012 period, with the aim to scale up and innovate the use of carbon finance instruments to support country initiatives that promote lowcarbon development.
With this mandate, the CPF moved away from the project-by-project approach adopted by the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the pre-2012 period, and utilized a scaled-up, programmatic approach - the CDM Programme of Activities (PoA) - to build its project portfolio. In 2014, the CPF commenced work on conceptual and methodological approaches for the next generation of scaled-up crediting instruments, which later moved to a piloting phase for three New Crediting Instruments (NCI), in line with the development of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Seven PoA programs were included in the CPF project portfolio and implemented across four sectors, from renewable energy to waste management, delivering 6.4 million Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) generated between 2013 and 2020. While the three NCI pilot programs could not be implemented under the CPF, the Facility succeeded in structuring these scaled-up crediting programs and developing the required technical foundations - mainly greenhouse gas quantification methodologies and MRV approaches -which provided proof of concept for the developed sectoral and policy-based crediting approaches.
By 2020, the CPF transitioned to technical assistance projects to further support future sectoral and policy crediting programs. These projects included the development of tools for the finance and transport sectors that quantified the mitigation impacts of key interventions and identified crediting opportunities. The CPF also contributed to the World Bank’s flagship report What a Waste, produced a global mapping of GHG emissions reduction potential in the waste sector for the 2025 edition, and worked on enhancing GHG quantification methodologies and mitigation potential assessment of the livestock sector in Central Asia. Results achieved by the CPF played an important role in the conceptualization and establishment of new World Bank facilities focusing on the scaling-up of carbon crediting, namely the Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF) and the Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (SCALE) facility
The Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) focused on scaling up the adoption of carbon market instruments to support low-carbon development in client countries. It supported the transition from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement by piloting sector and policy-based programs in line with the development of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The CPF supported the generation of GHG emissions reduction across diverse sectors, including energy, transport, and waste management, emphasizing capacity building and sustainable growth.
The Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) focused on scaling up the adoption of carbon market instruments to support low-carbon development in client countries. It supported the transition from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement by piloting sector and policybased programs in line with the development of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The CPF supported the generation of GHG emissions reduction across diverse sectors, including energy, transport, and waste management, emphasizing capacity building and sustainable growth.
The Carbon Partnership Facility (CPF) supported the development and implementation of various scaled-up crediting programs across sectors and countries to reduce GHG emissions.
The Brazil Solid Waste Management Program improved landfill operations to reduce methane emissions and generate energy. In partnership with CAIXA bank, it combined lending with carbon finance and technical assistance to incentivize sustainable, low-carbon practices. From 2013 to 2018, Santa Rosa and São Gonçalo landfills in the state of Rio de Janeiro, along with the standalone Candeias project in Pernambuco, reduced over three 3 million tons of CO2-equivalent GHG emissions and produced electricity for 200,000 households in Brazil.
Caixa integrated carbon finance into its lending, tying ERPA performance with interest rates to loans for private entities. This strengthened the financial incentive for compliance with CDM requirements and environmental and social safeguards, which led to the establishment of environmental standards for landfills and fostering of public-private collaboration.
The Egypt Vehicle Scrapping and Recycling Program, a first-of-its-kind for the transport sector, helped replace old, high-emission vehicles with eco-friendly alternatives. The program created one-stop shops for taxi drivers to scrap their old taxis, and purchase and register new ones. Together with financial incentives, the service encouraged taxi owners to retire their aging cars, ensuring proper recycling of components. Between 2013 and 2018, more than 41,000 taxis some more than 20 years old - were replaced in the Greater Cairo region alone, cutting GHG emissions by 334,000 tons of CO2-equivalent. This pioneering CDM program also enhanced air quality, reduced pollution, and helped inspire similar programs in other countries.
The Morocco Municipal Solid Waste Management Program improved landfill operations to reduce methane emissions and promote energy generation. Led by the Moroccan Municipal Development Bank, the program included building and upgrading landfills, generating carbon credits, and fostering local capacity for carbon market access. Technical challenges such as high leachate levels in the Oum Azza landfill affected the participation of other landfills and the programs potential to reduce GHG emissions. In the end, the program had two successful CDM issuances of about 21,000 Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) in 2017 and 2018.
The Philippines Solid Waste Management Program modernized waste management by closing dumpsites and establishing sanitary landfills with methane capture systems. These systems reduced GHG emissions, generated electricity, and created revenue through carbon credits. The Montalban and Payatas landfills reduced GHG emissions by nearly 800,000 tons of CO2-equivalent and successfully transformed the trash collection business into methane gas power plants with nearly 11 MW power generation capacity.
In 2019, Land Bank -a partner in the program - was internationally recognized by the Karlsruhe Outstanding Sustainable Finance Project Award for the successful implementation of its Carbon Finance Support Facility, which supported the installation of the gas collection and combustion systems used for electricity generation in the landfills.
The Philippines Methane Recovery and Combustion Program helped pig farmers transition from open lagoons to enclosed anaerobic systems for managing animal manure. These systems captured methane for combustion, thus reducing GHG emissions and generating electricity. The program supported 25 piggery farms, cutting GHG emissions by 175,000 tons of CO2-equivalent and producing fertilizer from sludge. The program provided participating farms with upfront financing from Land Bank to make investments in the methane capture and electricity generation technologies. Carbon payments incentivized the farms and associations to join the program, but electricity generation was an equal incentive due to the immediate availability of revenue. Partnering with the CPF in program implementation strengthened Land Banks climate finance capacity and internal procedures concerning environment and social safeguards. Land Bank was well positioned to leverage the developed capacity of the post-2020 regime under the Paris Agreement
The Tanzania Renewable Energy Program promoted small-scale renewable energy projects, using an innovative financing mechanism to increase equity finance for the initiatives. The mechanism entailed the provision of advance payment based on the estimated number of GHG emissions reduction generated by each of the programs projects.
While the program included ten renewable energy projects, only five, with installed capacity of nearly 12MW, generated Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) in the 2016-2020 period. The final CER issuance for the program was achieved in November 2023, bringing the total delivery to nearly 100,000 CERs. The initiative provided electricity to 53,000 households, demonstrating how climate finance can support green investments and expand energy access.
The Vietnam Renewable Energy Development Program promoted small hydropower projects to enhance electricity access and reduce GHG emissions. From 2013 to 2019, the program developed 12 hydropower plants, generating over 1.3 million certified emission reductions (CERs) and 214.5 MW of capacity.
The programs innovative financing model, which included a combination of concessional investment financing of US$202 million and results-based climate finance from the World Bank, allowed local banks to cover risks stemming from pioneering small hydropower projects (SHP). This mechanism helped to unlock commercial lending for such projects. As market confidence in small hydropower development grew, so did commercial financing. As a result, the program was able to mobilize US$220 million in additional investment from local banks and the private sector.
As all the SHPs were constructed in rural and remote areas, local governments retained a portion of taxes collected from the projects to improve local service delivery. New schools and cultural community centers were built, and roads were improved. The SHPs also increased access to electricity and provided jobs for local communities. Partnering with the CPF helped the Government of Vietnam acquire experience with carbon finance transactions, build climate finance capacity, and be well positioned to continue to mobilize climate finance, raising the countrys profile as it advances toward achieving its climate goals.
The Knowledge Center of the Carbon Partnership Facility aimed to distill and disseminate lessons learned from the CPF's work, particularly in results-based climate finance and carbon market mechanisms. The Center provided practical guides, handbooks, and reports on topics such as: