With millions displaced by climate and conflict, sustainable solutions are more urgent than ever. Building on our previous work, we’ve continued our collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to help shape the Refugee Environmental Protection Fund (REP Fund) — a pioneering initiative that uses carbon financing to support clean energy and reforestation in refugee settings.

We have supported the REP Fund since its inception in 2021, with a dedicated team working closely with UNHCR to bring the initiative to life. Over four phases of collaboration, we’ve contributed to strategy development, economic modeling, and feasibility assessments, all aimed at helping the REP Fund create long-term, scalable impact.

In the most recent phase, we focused on a critical challenge: helping UNHCR define how to engage with carbon project developers, the organizations responsible for delivering clean-cooking and reforestation projects on the ground. These developers play an important role in implementation but also raise important questions about investment, governance, and control.

Our team in Singapore worked with UNHCR to explore a range of engagement models, assessing the trade-offs between securing developer investment and retaining strategic oversight. We created an evaluation framework to guide decision-making, and delivered tailored recommendations across the REP Fund’s lifecycle, from pilot phase to scale-up and long-term operations.

We also developed an operational toolkit to support implementation during the pilot stage. In parallel, we helped UNHCR identify the critical issues to consider as the REP Fund moves toward launch, from selecting carbon standards and navigating market mechanisms to setting pricing strategies and designing benefit-sharing models that reflect the needs of both refugees and host communities. 

Our work brings together our expertise in climate, sustainability, and financial systems to unlock innovative, self-sustaining funding pathways. By helping shape this initiative, we’re proud to support a model that delivers environmental benefits while empowering some of the world’s most vulnerable communities.