we all need to CH4NGE

Two of the 21st century's biggest challenges are global climate change and the need to improve the standard of living of the world's poorest people - over half the world's population live on less than $2.50 per day.

Energy use is one of the main causes of climate change. Access to energy is also one of the most important factors that will enable the world's poor to improve their standard of living. The development of sustainable, affordable and climate-friendly energy projects is therefore a global priority.

At CH4NGE we work in partnership with NGOs and technology providers based in the developing world to finance and develop energy projects that both alleviate poverty (or have other sustainable development benefits) and reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The verified GHG savings created by these projects (carbon credits) are sold to governments, companies and NGOs globally and the income generated is used for project funding.

We provide our partners with the planning, technical and carbon market expertise required to develop Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects under the UN's Kyoto Protocol. We focus on developing projects that can also achieve Gold Standard carbon accreditation as this provides third party assurance that projects have tangible development benefits.

what we do

Project development

We work in partnership with local project developers, our role typically includes:

• Assistance with project design
• Provision of project finance
• Provision of technical expertise necessary to take projects through CDM and/or Gold Standard development cycles

Supply of premium quality carbon credits

CH4NGE is able to supply high quality carbon credits certified to CDM and Gold Standard accreditation. Whether you are a regulatory compliance or voluntary buyer you can be assured that:

• Our projects are certified to the UN's CDM and/or Gold Standard
• Our projects give rise to real reductions in GHG emissions
• Our projects are independently verified by the world's leading environmental auditors
• Our projects have a real impact on improving the livelihoods of the world's poor

case studies

Rural Indian biogas projects

CH4NGE has plans to initiate 9 projects over the next 12 months, the first two of which will involve the installation of household bio-digesters in rural parts of India. The bio-digesters convert cattle manure and household waste into a clean bio-gas that is used for cooking. The bio-digesters also produce a waste slurry that is an organic fertiliser that increases crop yields for the farming households.

The projects involve the development of bio-digesters in 20,000 households in the Hassan and Kolar districts of the Indian state of Karnataka. CH4NGE is working with SKG Sangha, an India NGO that has installed over 60,000 biogas units in the region over the last 15 years.

The projects will collectively reduce GHG emissions by 120,000 tonnes of CO₂^e per year and are in the process of being validated as CDM projects. In addition, Gold Standard certification is being sought for the projects due to their strong sustainability benefits:

• Improving the livelihoods and living conditions of poor rural households by replacing traditional wood burning stoves that produce smoke which is harmful to the health. The World Health Organisation estimates that over 1.5 million people worldwide, mostly women and children die prematurely each year as a result of inhaling cooking smoke.
• Using biogas frees up considerable time for women and children who currently spend up to 3 hours per day collecting fire wood
• The projects reduce the use of unsustainably harvested fuel wood, preventing deforestation
• Local people are employed to build the bio-digesters
• The projects use local building materials

The bio-digester process

Cattle manure, mixed with household waste water, is fed into a bio-digester, where it decomposes in anaerobic conditions producing methane. This is captured and used as a fuel for cooking. Biogas cookers will replace traditional inefficient wood-burning cooking stoves. The project will reduce GHG emissions by:

• Avoiding the burning of non-renewable biomass and kerosene
• Capturing methane produced from cattle manure and organic waste that would otherwise have been released into the atmosphere.

GHG reductions are expected to amount to around 6 tonnes of CO₂^e per bio-digester per year. The projects will collectively reduce GHG emissions by 120,000 tCO₂^e per annum.

contact us

Address

Grosvenor Gardens House
35-37 Grosvenor Gardens
Belgravia
London
SW1W OBS
United Kingdom

Email

Telephone

+44 20 7953 4051

Fax

+44 20 7953 4067