Singapore's National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) and standards agencies Gold Standard and Verra issued initial recommendations for procedures to help countries use existing carbon market frameworks to meet their climate targets, the agencies said in a joint statement late Nov. 11.
The Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol comprises standardized procedures for governments to collaborate with independent carbon crediting programs to implement Article 6.2 and achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and sustainable development goals, the statement said.
The move to create a carbon market playbook was first proposed at COP28 in December 2023. "The final Protocol will incorporate relevant decisions from COP29, with implementation intended to start in 2025," the statement added.
Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement allows governments and private sector participants to use carbon markets to meet their climate targets, including existing independent carbon crediting programs run by Gold Standard and Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program.
The agencies said using existing voluntary carbon market frameworks to certify emission reductions and removals would help relieve governments of the administrative burden of developing their own approaches, such as setting new standards for carbon credits.
Market participants have said that smaller countries with limited financial resources may not be able to set up domestic mechanisms to meet Article 6 requirements, and devising carbon measurement systems from scratch could potentially take several more years amid the urgency to decarbonize.
"In the absence of such a framework, countries could take divergent approaches, which could hinder the implementation, scaling and integrity of cooperation under Article 6.2," the statement added.
The agencies said that initial recommendations would set out key concepts and processes that form the basis of the Protocol, which will be further developed following the conclusion of COP29. This includes recommendations on how governments can develop an Article 6.2 market and steps to limit regulatory and market risk, such as Letters of Authorisation.
