IETA’s Priorities for COP25 - Operationalising Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

LONDON -  Nations will meet next month in Madrid for two weeks of negotiations over completing the rules to operationalise the Paris Agreement. 

The crucial goal at this year’s summit is to conclude more than three years of talks over the details of Article 6 of the Agreement, according to IETA’s CEO Dirk Forrister.

“Article 6 is vital to the success of the Paris Agreement,” Forrister said. “The ambition set out in the agreement absolutely requires the participation of the private sector, and Article 6 is the key to that participation.”

Recently published research found that cooperation through Article 6 has the potential to reduce the total cost of implementing NDCs significantly, in the order of $320 billion/year in 2030, or alternatively facilitate removal of more emissions, in the order of 9 GtCO2/year in 2030, at no additional cost if the cost savings are reinvested into additional mitigation. 

Article 6 deals with the international trade and exchange of emissions reductions among member states, allowing countries to achieve abatement at lowest cost. Within the Article are two main market tools: Article 6.2, which sets down definitions of internationally transferable emissions reductions, the rules for accounting and reporting; and Article 6.4 which sets out a crediting mechanism for emissions reduction and sustainable development.

IETA has laid out its detailed priorities for Article 6 in a document which can be found here. 

“Nations and companies have expressed the intention to use the power of markets to help achieve Nationally Determined Contributions to the Paris Agreement,” said Stefano De Clara, IETA’s Director of International Policy. “COP25 must give clarity on key elements essential to bring Article 6 to life and should set up a detailed work programme to advance the work on technical elements. 

IETA’s priorities for COP25 are laid out in a document that can be found here.

7 November 2019

IETA