In some parts of the world, today is cyber Monday, one more day of consumption splurge. ECO is no fan of this consumerist model, but in a conciliatory spirit, we have prepared a shopping list nonetheless. And what better thing to hunt for on a day aimed at driving market activity than a robust set of rules to establish the Paris Agreement’s market mechanisms under article 6?
By the end of this COP, ECO hopes that Parties will have agreed to a system which not only helps countries deliver on their targets, but also helps increase emission reductions and ensures environmental integrity. Parties might be used to hearing ECO complaining about Article 6, but today ECO wants to just “think positive” about the market mechanisms.
First, the mechanism will generate new projects, in the thousands, that will benefit (and not harm) local communities and provide concrete sustainable development benefits in the countries that most need it, notably LDCs and SIDS. Projects will be mainly small scale and focus on transformative technologies. This will contribute to developing renewable energy to provide access to electricity for poor communities, while respecting the strictest rules on additionality and vulnerability, and setting baselines well below business-as-usual.
While the most experienced readers will remember the scars left by old Kyoto Protocol markets, these will only be a remnant of the past, as none of the credits will have been transitioned into article 6 mechanisms, and only a few, high-quality projects will have made it to the next level. Of course, all emission reductions will be accurately accounted for, with no double counting, and the entire system will run through an international transaction log connected to national accounts. All of which will be perfectly transparent and allow ECO to peer through piles of well-organized datasets to prepare its next celebratory articles. And there will be a robust governance system to ensure human rights are respected, promoted, and considered including through a set of social and environmental safeguards, meaningful stakeholder participation requirements, and an independent grievance redress mechanism.
The markets will be used to help countries increase their targets, by aiding the development and transfer of new technologies, but countries will have no incentive to rely on international emission reductions as a substitute to domestic efforts. Rather, they will reduce their emissions and use markets only to go the extra mile. All credits will contribute to reducing emissions as well, since an automatic partial cancelation will be applied to ensure an overall reduction in emissions.
Finally, the new mechanisms will be channelling highly needed climate finance to developing countries through the levy of a share of proceeds on credits, that will provide funding for the Adaptation Fund.
ECO has a vision for article 6, and it is not ready to bargain (SIC) – ECO believes you must only agree on rules that ensure the principles highlighted above.