Nov 12, 2024 03:24 PM IST
The early adoption of the related modalities and most importantly carbon removal technologies was done without a discussion by parties and drew criticism
The Azerbaijan Presidency of the 2024 UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) announced an early victory with the adoption of standards for the creation of carbon credits under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, drawing criticism. The early adoption of the related modalities and most importantly carbon removal technologies was done without a discussion by parties.
The Presidency said the adoption of modalities will enable climate action by increasing demand for carbon credits and ensure that the international carbon market operates with integrity under the UN supervision. It added finalising negotiations for the Paris Agreement’s Article 6, which deals with voluntary cooperation to reach climate targets, could reduce the cost of implementing national climate plans by $250 billion annually by enabling cooperation across borders.
“This will be a game-changing tool to direct resources to the developing world. Following years of stalemate, the breakthroughs in Baku have now begun. But there is much more to deliver,” said COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev on Monday.
Babayev introduced a draft decision that “takes note” of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body’s adoption of two standards on methodologies and removals. The adoption operationalises the Article 6.4 Mechanism.
Babayev assured parties would continue contact group discussions and invited delegates to embrace the decision, which was adopted.
Negotiators from India and China said they were okay with the adoption of modalities for as it kick-starts the markets.
Yalchin Rafiyev, the Lead Negotiator for COP29, said it was a long-standing issue and was waiting for 10 years. “We had a very important start,” said Rafiyev on Tuesday.
An official said the supervisory body has put forward recommendations on methodologies to implement 6.4 or carbon markets and removals. “We, as a supervisory body, can continue developing more standards. These tools will come into play by next year. Many Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects have started moving to these new methodologies. The first issue of 6.4 credits will happen very soon,” she said.
Vaibhav Chaturvedi, a senior fellow at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, said the decision on Article 6.4 is a significant step forward but there is still some time until the rubber hits the road. “…now methodologies for implementation will have to be finalised, but this would be sooner than later. This is a positive development,” said Chaturvedi. He added this should not take the attention away from the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), a fair and balanced finance deal, at this COP as carbon markets are one of the means to deliver on it. “Higher the NCQG, higher the finance opportunity for the developing world through various channels.”
NCQG, which is at the top of the COP29 agenda, is the successor to the Global North’s annual $100 billion climate finance commitment for developing nations. It is expected to be operationalised in 2025.
Experts expressed reservations about the way the methodologies were adopted and the impacts of carbon removal technologies. Centre for Science and Environment programme officer (climate change) Trishant Dev said in an attempt to showcase a headline outcome, the endorsements have been rushed without countries having adequately discussed the supervisory body’s recommendations. “This should also not set a precedent. If the negotiating parties requested recommendations from the SB [subsidiary bodies] and have reviewed them for two years, the recommendations were significant enough to warrant discussion before adoption as standards.”
Dev said nations, including the Coalition for Rainforest Nations, the Independent Association of Latin America and the Caribbean, and the EU, objected to the removal guidance last year, calling it inadequate. “The revised recommendation, now adopted as a standard, still has issues like the lack of a definition for the durability of carbon removals.”
In a post on X, the Center for International Environmental Law said states would not be able to undo this move, but they can still partially correct the wrong by giving strong guidance to the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body that ensures further rules are adopted in line with science, human rights, and international law. “The now-approved rules on carbon markets will: Set a bad precedent for the negotiations & open the door to dangerous distractions such as #carboncaptureandstorage & geoengineering that harm people & the planet.”
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