The Article 6.4 Supervisory Board, the body working on creating the UN carbon market under the Paris Agreement, has finalized two key standards related to carbon removal and developing and assessing projects for a UN-supervised carbon market.
The board – also meeting in Baku ahead of COP29 in November – issued the standards after an extended work session on Wednesday with wording that technically made them operational.
This appears to be an unexpected move, as the usual process is for draft standards to be submitted to a different body, the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) that then approves them. With the adoption of the standards stalled in the last few years, the board might be trying to force the issue, achieve consensus and move the chains forward.
Maria AlJishi, Chair of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body said: “These new standards are a key element in our effort to deliver a crediting mechanism that is fit for the future. As the only crediting mechanism directly responsible to Parties and mandated by the Paris Agreement, we are committed to ensuring it balances the needs of achieving the Paris goals, supporting market players, and addressing host country interests.
The adoption of these standards marks a major step forward in enabling a robust, agile carbon market that can continue to evolve.”
Even though it appears the standards are now in force, the CMA can still recall them for further review when it meets at COP29.
Positive sign for carbon markets
Cimate Week New York saw a closer alignment between the EU and U.S. when it comes to Article 6 which governs the establishment of a UN carbon market and the Supervisory Board’s work reflects this.
Establishing a carbon market has been a priority for a number of years with the first mandate to create it dating back to 2015. A market would allow countries to buy and sell each other’s emissions, creating financial flows between high emitters in the developed world and emerging economies.
But doubts remain about the exact way the issue is being pushed through.
Former head and now member of the Supervisory Board Olga Gassan-zade shared on social media that “…It felt surreal at times to be creating some of the most fundamental elements of the 6.4 mechism on the fly – like drafting the buffer pool elements during a break. There are wordings in our documents that many would find puzzling as the word smithing got the better of us.
For now though, the path is clear for Article 6.4 in Baku.”
Relevant: Switzerland And Thailand Made The First Ever Carbon Credits Deal Under Article 6.2
Impact on carbon removal
The importance of this UN carbon removal standard can’t be overstated. Even though the industry itself has been progressing rapidly in the last two years and forging a path of its own when it comes to issuing and selling credits, the growth of its demand side has been stunted by the lack of broadly accepted standards.
There have been concerted efforts aimed at the Article 6.4 Supervisory Board from the industry itself with the Carbon Business Council gathering over 100 signatories for a letter that urges the adoption of the IPCC definition of carbon dioxide removal and a broad, flexible approach to existing and future methods that can become eligible participants in a future market.
Should it overcome all hurdles, this UN-issued standard could become the foundation for standardizing all types of carbon removal that span atmospheric, geological and ocean approaches, as well as utilization.
Read more: Gold Standard To Expand Carbon Dioxide Removal Methodologies
