The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28)
The 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) has brought together global leaders, policymakers, and stakeholders to address pressing environmental issues. One crucial topic under discussion is Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which aims to facilitate international cooperation in achieving climate goals by establishing mechanisms for carbon markets and voluntary cooperation. However, negotiations surrounding Article 6 have faced challenges, particularly in relation to Article 6.4, which focuses on the sustainable development of host countries.
What Is Article 6 of the Paris Agreement?
The Paris Agreement, signed at COP21 in Paris, stands as a landmark international accord aimed at combatting climate change and achieving a sustainable future for our planet. It sets out a framework for limiting global warming to below 1.5C or at least “well below 2C” above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. The agreement also asks countries to become carbon neutral by no later than the second half of this century. Global temperatures have already risen by a little more than 1C (2F) since 1880 and predictions for 2 degrees of warming or more would have catastrophic environmental, social, and economic impacts.
Within the Paris agreement, Article 6 holds significant importance, as it focuses on fostering international cooperation and collaboration to enhance climate action and achieve the goals outlined in the agreement. It provides a framework for countries to voluntarily collaborate and implement market-based approaches to mitigate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and promote sustainable development.
Key Components of Article 6
1. Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs)
Article 6.2 establishes a mechanism for countries to voluntarily transfer their emission reduction outcomes to other countries. This allows nations with a surplus of emission reductions to sell their excess units to countries in need, encouraging cooperation and emission reductions at a global scale.
2. Cooperative Approaches
Article 6.2 also enables countries to engage in cooperative approaches, such as emissions trading or project-based cooperation, allowing countries to collaborate on emission reduction projects and initiatives, promoting the transfer of clean technologies and fostering sustainable development.
3. Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM)
Article 6.4 establishes the SDM, which builds upon the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. The SDM aims to incentivize emission reduction projects in developing countries while promoting sustainable development co-benefits. It provides a framework for the implementation of projects that contribute to both climate action and sustainable development goals.
Article 6 at COP28
A key issue of COP28 in Dubai is Article 6, due to its importance in operationalizing and implementing the market and non-market mechanisms outlined in the agreement. The summit provides an opportunity for countries to negotiate and finalize the rules and modalities for the effective implementation of the article, including issues related to accounting, transparency, and governance. These rules will provide a clear framework for countries to participate in market-based mechanisms and cooperative approaches.
Negotiations will also focus on establishing robust rules for the accounting of emissions reductions, avoiding double counting, ensuring environmental integrity, and promoting transparency in emissions trading systems as well as on the operationalization of the SDM, defining eligibility criteria, governance structures, and financing mechanisms and ensuring that it effectively contributes to both climate action and sustainable development goals.
Challenges
Finalizing the rules and modalities for Article 6 at COP28 faces several key challenges.
One of the main challenges is developing robust accounting rules that ensure the accurate tracking and accounting of emission reductions as well as establishing transparent and reliable accounting methodologies that are acceptable to all parties. Indeed, countries have different capacities, historical responsibilities, and development priorities, which must be considered to ensure a just distribution of benefits and burdens. Balancing the interests of developed and developing countries in terms of access to market mechanisms, financial support, and technology transfer is another key challenge in the negotiations.
“There is a risk that methodologies developed under 6.4 will be too political. Specifically that some methodologies will have to be revisited too often, or that credits will be ‘temporary,’ as was the case under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM),” said Jos Cozijnsen, a former Dutch negotiator now serving as a carbon specialist with the Carbon Neutral Group.
“They may also decide that carbon removals have to be additional to Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets instead of recognized as a tool for meeting NDCs, and this could delay action on removals, where companies invest in a lot these days, and incentivize countries to make less ambitious commitments,” he added.
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
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SDG 13: Climate Action
- Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
- Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
- Target 13.a: Implement the commitment undertaken by developed-country parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to a goal of mobilizing jointly $100 billion annually by 2020 from all sources to address the needs of developing countries in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation and fully operationalize the Green Climate Fund through its capitalization as soon as possible
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SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
- Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
- Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
- Target 7.a: By 2030, enhance international cooperation to facilitate access to clean energy research and technology, including renewable energy, energy efficiency, and advanced and cleaner fossil-fuel technology, and promote investment in energy infrastructure and clean energy technology
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SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
- Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources
- Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
- Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse
SDGs, Targets, and Indicators
| SDGs | Targets | Indicators |
|---|---|---|
| SDG 13: Climate Action | Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning | The negotiations surrounding Article 6 of the Paris Agreement aim to establish mechanisms for carbon markets and voluntary cooperation, which would require integrating climate change measures into national policies and strategies. |
| SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy | Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix | The implementation of market-based approaches and cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, such as emissions trading and project-based cooperation, can promote the transfer of clean technologies and foster sustainable development. |
| Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency | The negotiations at COP28 aim to establish rules and modalities for the effective implementation of Article 6, including issues related to accounting, transparency, and governance. These rules would contribute to improving energy efficiency in the context of climate action. | |
| SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production | Target 12.2: By 2030, achieve the sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources | The Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) established under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement aims to incentivize emission reduction projects in developing countries while promoting sustainable development co-benefits, which aligns with the target of achieving sustainable management and efficient use of natural resources. |
| Target 12.4: By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all wastes throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment | The negotiations at COP28 aim to establish robust rules for the accounting of emissions reductions, ensuring environmental integrity and avoiding double counting, which contributes to achieving the environmentally sound management of chemicals and wastes. | |
| Target 12.5: By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse | The negotiations at COP28 aim to establish rules for the operationalization of the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM), defining eligibility criteria and governance structures. These rules would contribute to reducing waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse in the context of emission reduction projects. |
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Source: earth.org
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