South Pole Group has released a new publication that guides countries in meeting the goals set by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The report, which outlines a set of recommendations for the development and implementation of future market-based mechanisms, provides further insights in the context of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) project, "Developing and transacting and up-scaled CDM-based carbon credit approach in the SEMED region." This project seeks to identify an approach for the design and implementation of an up-scaled crediting mechanism, including a selection of potential renewable energy pilot projects in the region, to monetise greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions pre-2020 and further pilot a carbon crediting mechanism under Article 6.
Article 6 established an opportunity for countries to cooperate in the implementation of their climate change mitigation and adaptation plans, as well as a push to reflect this cooperation within their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The detailed report aims to help governments reduce GHG emissions, and reflects a greater urgency for ambitious climate action on a national scale - a move that is paramount to achieving the 2-degree target by 2020 and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5-degree.
The adoption of these market-based approaches has considerably accelerated, recognising the effectiveness of such policy instruments in both providing incentives to reduce emissions but also in directing finance towards substantiated mitigation activities. The purpose of this report is to further guide governments in developing and implementing future market-based mechanisms, with a key focus on the perspective of the private sector, including investors, operators and project developers, as a vital contribution to these discussions. The report provides insights ahead of the Bonn Climate Change Conference and the Innovate4Climate event, which bring world leaders together to further discuss how a low-carbon economy can be achieved.
The full report can be downloaded here.