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Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market appoints new Governing Board members, including two IPLC members

1 December 2022, London, United Kingdom

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council) has appointed three new members to its Governing Board, including two Indigenous Peoples members, as it works to establish a global threshold standard for high-quality carbon credits, it announced today.

Jennifer Tauli Corpuz, from the Kankana-ey Igorot People of Mountain Province in the Philippines and Global Policy and Advocacy Lead for Nia Tero, and Dr. Kanyinke Sena, Director for the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee, have been appointed to its Governing Board. They are both members of Indigenous communities in the Philippines and Kenya respectively, and experts on the rights of Indigenous People and have advocated for their representation in global policy. They are joined on the Integrity Council Governing Board by Angela Churie Kallhauge, Executive Vice President for Impact for the Environmental Defence Fund (EDF).

They join at a critical point in the Integrity Council’s work. In July it published draft Core Carbon Principles, which set out high-level principles for assuring consistent high integrity of carbon credits that create real, additional and verifiable climate impact with high environmental and social integrity, as well as a framework to assess whether credits meet this standard. It is currently drawing up final versions following a consultation this summer with stakeholders throughout the market, including with IPLC voices and experts.

A lawyer by profession Corpuz is the former coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Policy Advocacy Program of Tebtebba and was involved as a negotiator and expert for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity representing Indigenous peoples at the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

Corpuz said: “The voluntary carbon market has the potential to accelerate funding and deliver co-benefits to these communities, which is urgently needed, but it will only succeed if we work in partnership with Indigenous Peoples and local communities to make sure the voluntary carbon market is rooted in high integrity.”

With a doctorate in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona, Dr. Sena is an expert on the rights of Indigenous people and ensuring equitable and effective governance. Prior to joining the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee, a network of 135 Indigenous Peoples organizations in 22 countries in Africa, he served as a member and Chairperson of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and on Conservation International Indigenous Advisory Boards among others.

Dr. Sena said: “Most Indigenous Peoples are highly dependent on natural resources and live in sensitive ecosystems. We have seen examples where the voluntary carbon market has enhanced land rights for IPLCs and brought significant biodiversity benefits, which in turn have a direct positive benefit for the climate. But this is not always the case and we need to make sure the voluntary carbon market embeds the integrity standards and safeguards necessary to protect and promote the rights and livelihoods of IPLCs. We are partners in the fight against climate change and a high integrity voluntary carbon market can be a powerful tool in the portfolio to help IPLCs achieve self-sufficiency for the benefit of everyone on the planet. I look forward to ensuring this perspective continues to be integrated in the development of the Integrity Council’s work.”

As Executive Vice President for Impact at EDF, Churie Kallhauge focuses on using inclusive processes and economic approaches to achieve ambitious climate solutions that deliver equitable benefits to people around the world. Prior to EDF, Churie Kallhauge led the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition at the World Bank.

Churie Kallhauge said: “The fight against climate change is about people, and bringing problem-solvers with diverse knowledge and skills together to build effective solutions that can endure the test of time. That is what the Integrity Council is working to achieve with its Core Carbon Principles and Assessment Framework. We urgently need to establish an easily-recognisable benchmark for a high-integrity carbon credit that everyone can trust and I’m looking forward to working with the Integrity Council to make sure the CCPs deliver this outcome.”  

Chair of the Integrity Council, Annette Nazareth said: “We are delighted to welcome Jennifer, Kanyinke and Angela to the Integrity Council Board. The recent consultation period on the draft CCPs and Assessment Framework has provided vital feedback from all stakeholders, including from IPLC communities, and we look forward to working with our new Governing Board members to ensure that these voices remain at the centre of our work going forward.”

The Integrity Council’s 22-member Board is made up a supermajority of independent members with three dedicated seats for Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs) voices. The Board also reserves three seats for Market Participants.

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Note to Editors

About the Integrity Council

The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (Integrity Council) is an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon market.

The Integrity Council sets and enforces definitive global threshold standards for the voluntary carbon market, drawing on the best science and expertise available, to channel finance towards genuine and additional greenhouse gas reductions and removals that go above and beyond what can otherwise be achieved, and that contribute to climate resilient development.

The Integrity Council’s Governance Structure

The Integrity Council’s governance structure includes a Governing Board, an Expert Panel, a Distinguished Advisory Group, and an Executive Secretariat.

The Integrity Council’s Governing Board, chaired by Annette Nazareth, has deep experience in financial regulation and carbon markets, and a globally diverse membership from Indigenous and local communities, non-profits, philanthropy, the private sector, and research institutions. The Governing Board meet monthly and provide strategic advice to the whole body.

About Jennifer Tauli Corpuz

Jennifer Tauli Corpuz, from the Kankana-ey Igorot People of Mountain Province in the Philippines, and a lawyer by profession, is the Global Policy and Advocacy Lead for Nia Tero.

She is the former coordinator of the Indigenous Peoples’ Rights and Policy Advocacy Program of Tebtebba – Indigenous Peoples’ International Center for Policy Research and Education. She is passionate about developing capacities of the next generation of Indigenous leaders. Jennifer graduated from the UP College of Law and obtained her Master of Laws (Ll.M.) from the Indigenous Peoples’ Law and Policy (IPLP) Program of The University of Arizona at Tucson, Arizona.

She was the 2012 Indigenous Intellectual Property Fellow at the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), and since then has been an active participant in the WIPO IGC negotiations on the protection of traditional knowledge. She was involved as negotiator and expert for the International Indigenous Forum on Biodiversity (IIFB), representing indigenous peoples, at the negotiations leading to the adoption of the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-Sharing under the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).

About Dr. Kanyinke Sena

Dr. Paul Kanyinke Ole Sena is from Ololulunga in Narok County Kenya. He is a lecturer at Egerton University’s faculty of Law and has a wealth of experience in advocating for the rights of Indigenous people. He has served as a member and the first African chairperson of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, is a co-chair of CEESP-SPICEH, and is currently the Director of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating committee, a network of 135 Indigenous Peoples organizations in 22 countries in Africa.

Dr. Sena also teaches human rights and environmental law at the Faculty of Law, Egerton University, Kenya. Previously he served as member and Chair person of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and member African Commission Working Group on Indigenous Populations. He has also served on Conservation International Indigenous Advisory Boards, and UN REDD Policy Board among others. He holds a Doctorate in Indigenous Peoples Law and Policy from the University of Arizona.

About Angela Churie Kallhauge

Angela Churie Kallhauge joined EDF in April 2022 as Executive Vice President for Impact. In this role, she focusses on using inclusive processes and economic approaches to achieve ambitious climate solutions that deliver equitable benefits to people around the world. Churie Kallhauge joined EDF from the World Bank Group where she led the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, a voluntary partnership of governments, businesses, and civil society organizations working to advance carbon pricing on the global agenda.

Before joining the World Bank, she spent a decade in senior roles in the Swedish government as a negotiator to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and led the European Union’s team that negotiated adaptation, loss, damage, and capacity development issues. For two years she worked at the International Renewable Energy Agency in Abu Dhabi, where she developed and coordinated an agency-wide strategy on climate change issues. A native Kenyan, Churie Kallhauge is passionate about climate solutions that improve human well-being globally and, in particular, in the developing world.