Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Plastic waste and recycling claims · Multiple countries · 2024

World Bank $100m plastic waste bond tied to Verra credit sales

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 1 not measured · 1 unclear See the gaps

The World Bank's US$100 million, seven-year Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond, dated January 2024, ties investor returns to sales of Verra plastic and carbon credits. For nature, the question is whether those credits pay for less plastic waste, which the sources reviewed do not measure.

What?
The World Bank issued a US$100 million, seven-year, principal-protected Plastic Waste Reduction-Linked Bond in January 2024. Packaging Europe
Where?
Ghana (ASASE) and Indonesia (SEARcular) initiatives Packaging Europe
When?
January 2024 Packaging Europe
Who?
Gained
  • Bond investors — principal protection; returns tied to credit sales Packaging Europe
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Returns tied to Verra plastic and carbon credit sales from initiatives run by Plastic Collective. Packaging Europe
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Packaging Europe reported that the World Bank bond is principal-protected and that its returns are tied to Verra plastic and carbon credit sales.

Packaging Europe also reported that Citi was lead arranger and that Plastic Collective runs the Ghanaian ASASE and Indonesian SEARcular initiatives.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Unclear Whether plastic waste was reduced by the funded initiatives is not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Buffer pool
    A reserve of credits held back from sale by a carbon programme to cover future losses, such as forest burned or logged after credits were issued. It works as the programme's own insurance.
    Carbon credit
    A certificate representing one tonne of carbon dioxide (or equivalent) that a project says it reduced, avoided or removed. Buyers use credits to balance their own emissions in climate claims.
    REDD+
    Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation. A UN framework under which forest projects earn carbon credits for deforestation they say they prevented, measured against a projected baseline.
    Standard-setter and registry
    An organisation that writes the rules for carbon credits, approves projects, and records when credits are issued and retired. Such bodies typically charge fees per credit.

    Bonds and banking

    Arranger
    The bank that structures and sells a bond or loan deal, usually for a fee.

    Law and courts

    Land titling
    Formal legal recognition of ownership of land.