Ritika Tewari from NewClimate Institute presented findings from the Germany’s international cooperation on carbon markets report that is looking at Ukraine, Vietnam and Ethiopia readiness to implement Paris Agreement's Article 6.
1. Side event at COP 23, EU Pavilion
Are countries ready for
Article 6?
Insights from three countries
Ritika Tewari
Bonn, 7th November 2017
2. Background
Starting point: where do countries stand on their readiness to engage in
the options Article 6 presents for transferring mitigation obligations?
Two part question:
• How ready are countries to generate quality mitigation outcomes?
• Readiness to be able to transfer outcomes in a manner so as to avoid double
counting?
We look at three fundamental elements for readiness
• Enabling conditions
• Feasibility of maintaining robust MRV and accounting
• Compatibility of the NDC
We looked at Ukraine, Viet Nam and Ethiopia
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3. Distilling evidence on the three elements of readiness in Ukraine,
Viet Nam and Ethiopia
Take aways
Entry-points for international cooperation
Contents
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4. Enabling conditions
While all three express willingness to participate in markets in
their NDCs....
...the starting points vary
…and motivations to participate differ
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UkraineViet NamEthiopia
• 4th globally for
registered CDM projects
• JCM activities and
NAMAs underway
• Pilot ETS after 2020 not
ruled out
• JI and AAU trading
under GIS
• ETS discussions in
advanced stages
• Fewer CDM projects
got registered, in
strategic sectors
• JCM member and
NAMAs underway
5. Feasibility of maintaining robust
MRV and accounting
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Registry experience
Accounting
Intervention level
(actions, policies)
National emissions
inventory
MRV Systems
Intervention level
(actions, policies)
National
• Developing in a few (priority)
sectors– KP activities and
NAMAs (Ethiopia, Viet Nam)
• Resource constraints
(financial, technical and
institutional) limit
independent development of
inventory
• No concrete registry
experience in Viet Nam
and Ethiopia
• Ukraine stands out due to
KP infrastructure
• Developing in a few (priority) sectors, with
international support
• Limited discussion on how sectoral MRV
frameworks feed into national frameworks
• Need for broadening and deepening institutions and
capacities to implement market based interventions
• limited to few champions / bodies
• sub-national and private sector capacities limited
(esp. for installation level MRV)
Implementation capacities
6. Similarity and differences in NDCs put forth by the three countries:
• All three countries have economy-wide, absolute reduction targets
• All have single year targets leading upto 2030, do not provide details of the
emission trajectories
• Type of details vary. Ethiopia defines interventions forming the target while Ukraine
provides planned policies
• Conditional (Ethiopia) │with conditional elements (Viet Nam)│Unconditional
(Ukraine)
Scope of NDC will determine and delimit emission budget available to
transfer as ITMOs
Diversity in NDCs makes comparability difficult, and can lead to accounting
challenges
Compatibility of NDC
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7. Take aways
1. Countries interested in Article 6 need to deliberate on its role in their
NDC achievement
2. Readiness for markets linked to readiness for NDC implementation
3. Unpacking high-level targets will be important to facilitate environmental
integrity objectives of Article 6
• Single year targets increase risk of ‚hot air‘ define trajectories leading to target year
• Conditional elements have a risk of ‘double counting’ of mitigation outcomes (and
support) and lowering global mitigation ambition reporting and accounting
requirements
4. Operationalising Article 6’s environmental integrity principles would
benefit from discussion across agenda items [Art. 13.7(b), 13.10 and 9]
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8. Role of international support in
Article 6 readiness
Immediate support for NDC implementation readiness would serve
to benefit market readiness in countries, esp.
• for private and sub-national actors
• towards institutional readiness and building capacities
Support/develop a) platforms of learning and experience sharing,
incl. experiences of developed countries b) piloting instruments
Enhancing understanding on what future markets will look like
Necessary to differentiate between 1) country-specific support needed to
facilitate 'next steps' and 2) overarching support needs that address more
'common' gaps
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FOCUS DISCUSSION ON COUNTRIES,
DIFFICULT QUESTION TO ADDRESS – AIM IS NOT TO PROVIDE ANSWERS – BUT PUTTING IT OUT THERE and PRESENT some NUANCES to the question of country readiness.
READINESS HAS TWO PARTS:
1. Are Countries ready to develop approaches/participate in mechanisms which generate quality/genuine ITMOs,
2. Readiness to transfer mitigation outcomes in a manner that double counting is avoided
With due recognition that many of the answers on readiness will get clarity in the rules and guidelines agreed multilaterally, WE LOOKED AT THREE ELEMENTS WE CONSIDER FUNDAMENTAL IN COUNTRIES TO ENGAGE IN THE OPTIONS ARTICLE 6 opens up to transfer ITMOs to ensure env. Integrity and avoid double counting.
1. ENABLING CONDITIONS – elements that play a FACILITATIVE ROLE in uptake of instruments that would GENERATE MITIGATION OUTCOMES which can be transferred internationally
2. Feasibility of maintaining robust MRV and accounting - STRENGTH OF DOMESTIC SYSTEMS to ensure GENERATION OF QUALITY ITMOs, TRACK TRANSFERS and UNDERTAKE CORRESPONDING ADJUSTMENT
3. Compatibility of NDC: HOW NDC OBLIGATIONS ARE SET will have a bearing on the TRANSPARENCY OF what is considered an ITMO AND ITS QUALITY.
Distillation of country specific findings, details in the publications
Interest in markets is common to all three
...But the starting points to engage in market based instruments vary
Ukraine farthest with KP experience and ongoing discussions on ETS
Viet Nam has ample CDM experience, although mostly in hydro projects, active in JCM and a range of NAMAs have been designed with international support, Pilot ETS cannot be ruled out
Ethiopia on the other end, has limited experience with CDM (but in strategic sectors)
We looked at where domestic capacities stand on: Accounting (intervention level and national), MRV systems, Implementation capacities, and registry experience
1. Ukraine stands out considering the INFRASTRUCTURE IT HAS CREATED BEING A KP ANNEX B PARTY (economy wide MRV systems, accounting and registry), although implementation capacities at installation level need to be improved
2. Lacking in the other two, ACCOUNTING AND MRV FOR INTERVENTIONS is DEVELOPING IN FEW PRIORITY SECTORS covered in the NDC
3. LIMITED DISCUSSION ON HOW these SECTORAL MRV STRUCTURES FIT in NATIONAL FRAMEWORK needed for the NDC. (needed to adjust transfers from own mitigation)
Diversity in NDCs makes comparability difficult, and can lead to accounting challenges
As we enter into a regime where the strict definition of buyers and sellers goes away and all countries put adequate effort towards global mitigation, the approach on markets also needs to be modified. Countries interested in Article 6 need to deliberate on its role in their NDC achievement
Readiness for markets linked to readiness for NDC implementation
This will involve unpacking...
Single year targets
Is ambition under conditional obligations offsetable
Operationalising Article 6’s environmental integrity principles would benefit from discussion across agenda items
First, article 13.7 (b) (information necessary to track progress towards NDC implementation would include info on ITMO transfers)
Second, demarcate what is support for conditional NDCs under Art 6 and climate finance commitments under Article 9 (esp. RBF type approaches)
This info feeds into Article 13.10 (reporting on support needed and provided)