Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), Gold Standard, and Verra have issued initial recommendations on the creation of a new protocol for governments looking to trade carbon emissions under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement with the help of independent crediting programs (ICPs).
The set of guidelines, dubbed the “Article 6 Playbook”, aims to help countries that are Parties to the Paris Agreement leverage ICPs to meet and surpass their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Drawing on practical experience, these recommendations lay the foundation for the development of the Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol, expected to be implemented in 2025.
As the authors clarify, these guidelines serve to inform more countries and market actors about the use of ICPs under Article 6.2, invite feedback on the concepts proposed for the Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol so far, and communicate ideas and recommendations to COP29 government attendees who will negotiate the implementation of the new Protocol.
According to these guidelines, the cornerstone of the Protocol should be the clear distinction between carbon credits and internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs).
The first type of credits represents mitigation outcomes achieved by projects that are tracked on ICP registries, while the second type represents the accounting of credits used under Article 6.2 that are tracked on national registries.
In their essence, the NCCS, Gold Standard, and Verra recommendations outline three main building blocks for the Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol.
The first integral Protocol element is providing a clear definition for the roles and responsibilities of ICPs and Paris Agreement Parties, as well as their registries, when ICPs are used in Article 6.2.
A second area of focus should be clarifying the status of corresponding adjustments, where efforts should aim to define the timing and labeling of ITMOs and the relevant adjustments.
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Lastly, in regard to the reporting and tracking of mitigation outcomes, the Protocol should promote communication that will facilitate traceability of results between IPC Registrees and Party Registrees.
To develop these initial recommendations, over the past year the authors engaged with governments and other relevant market experts, exchanging information and valuable insights.
The final version of the Protocol is expected to be published following the closing of the COP29 conference.
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