-by Jarryl Bryan

Since 2023, the money earned under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS-2030) has supported almost 3000 community led projects in hundreds of Indigenous villages.

The Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS 2030) pioneered by the PPP/C government, has left numerous lasting legacies, including the almost 3000 projects it funded for Indigenous communities.

During a recent interview on the Starting Point Podcast, Lead Climate Negotiator, Pradeepa Bholanath, spoke about the strategy’s impact.

“To date, we have seen close to 3,000 projects at the village level. Keep in mind that we’ve run this for three years now,” she said.

She explained that the money was disbursed to villages in tranches between 2023 and 2025.

At least 15 per cent of LCDS earnings earmarked for Indigenous communities were provided directly to the villages. This allows 252 of these villages to come up with their own village sustainability plans by consensus. Between 10 and 35 Million dollars go to each community based on population size.  

“So 15 per cent goes directly to indigenous villages for them to administer. And that has been, to my mind, one of the biggest successes. I would say, of the implementation of LCDS 2030,” she said.

The remaining 85 per cent is spent through institutional systems on priority projects at the community, regional and national levels.