Eastern Africa carbon market engagement: Regional foundations for Article 6 implementation

• An online dialogue and peer to peer exchange for regional carbon project developers
• 21, 23, 25 September 2020, 1PM CET/ 2PM EAT
• Host: GIZ Global Carbon Markets Programme Uganda-East Africa (GCM), supported by the German Federal Ministry of Environment, nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU)
• Organizers: The Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance (EA Alliance), UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Centre kampala (RCC Kampala) and the Climate Finance Innovators Project.
  Co-oganizers/Facilitators: Perspectives Climate Group and Carbon Africa

Links:
Link to concept note (pdf file)
Link to Workshop report (pdf file)
Link to presentations (external website)

Sessions:
Session 1 (21 Sep): Carbon market engagement & CDM Transition
Session II (23 Sep): Key features of the Paris Agreement and NDCs
Session III (25 Sep): Piloting Article 6

Objectives:
The main aim of the dialogue was to build readiness for the potential CDM transition and future implementation of Article 6 amongst existing and aspiring carbon asset developers by providing participants with:

• Access to the latest and practicably applicable information relating to;
• Experiences and current status of carbon market mechanisms including the CDM and voluntary standards across Eastern Africa;
• Current status and key issues of international climate negotiations on Article 6 as well as CDM transition;
• Key impacts of the Paris Agreement and country NDCs on future carbon markets (e.g. accounting requirements for carbon credits such as corresponding adjustments);
• Status and opportunities related to piloting Article 6 in Eastern Africa and beyond;
• Emerging carbon market demand from a wide range of sources including governments and the voluntary carbon markets;
• How the private sector can prepare for and aim to get involved with Article 6;
• Access to a regional community of practice and networking opportunities for carbon project developers across Eastern Africa, building on similar interactions in recent years.

Key Take-aways:
The lack of clarity at the UNFCCC Intergovernmental level is viewed as an extremely serious market concern that, coupled with postponement of COP26, means there is a real risk of having a CDM regulatory gap after 2020. In response, certain project developers in the region are already stalling on verification investment decisions and considering a shift to the voluntary carbon standards. This has the potential to fundamentally undermine international confidence, in particular of the private sector, in multilaterally governed market mechanisms.
The carbon market is living through a dynamic transition period and it is increasingly challenging to keep track of developments that potentially have an impact on both existing and planned assets.
Emerging significant initiatives developed under the potential future provisions of Article 6 have raised interest in regional carbon asset developers even though there remains a lack of clarity on the exact role they could play. In that regard there is growing pressure on host Governments across the region to ramp up, with urgency, the reaction of long term politically mandated governance structures that will enable confident engagement under Article 6.

Stephan Hoch, Axel Michaelowa, Perspectives Climate Group;
Tim Cowman, Carbon Africa