SINGAPORE – November 11, 2024 | Singapore’s National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in the Strategy Group, Prime Minister’s Office and the world’s largest independent carbon crediting programmes – Gold Standard and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) Program – are working together to develop an Article 6.2 Crediting Protocol (“Protocol”) aimed at supporting countries in their use of Article 6 to achieve their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and sustainable development goals.
“It is important to have a protocol that facilitates Article 6.2 cooperation between independent crediting programs and governments. This would ensure that Article 6.2 can operate efficiently.”
Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement allows governments and private sector participants to cooperate internationally through market-based mechanisms to meet their climate targets. One option under Article 6.2 is for governments to work through existing independent carbon crediting programmes, which are already operational and widely used by market participants, to certify their emission reductions and removals, thereby relieving them of the administrative burden of having to develop their own approaches (e.g., standards for carbon credits).
The intention for NCCS, Gold Standard and Verra to collaborate on creating standardised and streamlined procedures for governments to work with independent carbon crediting programmes to implement Article 6.2 was first announced at COP28 in December 2023. In the absence of such a framework, countries could take divergent approaches, which could hinder the implementation, scaling and integrity of cooperation under Article 6.2.
“If a market is to be trusted, it must be built on solid foundations. For Article 6 to be reliable and efficient, governments and standards need to work together. These initial recommendations outline how, by doing so, they can deliver impact for both the climate, and sustainable development.”
The initial recommendations set out key concepts and processes that will form the basis of the Protocol, which will be further developed and published in full following the conclusion of COP29. The report also includes recommendations on how governments can facilitate a clear, efficient and effective Article 6.2 market. Further, the report calls on governments to take steps to limit regulatory and market risk associated with Article 6.2 transactions, for example, through robust templates for Letters of Authorisation.
The development of the initial recommendations has been informed by engagements with governments and other market experts over the past year. The final Protocol will incorporate relevant decisions from COP29, with implementation intended to start in 2025. The three organisations will continue to engage and seek feedback from stakeholders when developing the final Protocol to ensure that it can serve as a practical enabler of and complement to Article 6.2 rules adopted within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
“Independent crediting programmes offer comprehensive standards and verification mechanisms that are primed and ready for use by governments in their cooperation under Article 6. The positive reactions we are already receiving from government stakeholders demonstrate how independent standards, that have grown up in the voluntary carbon market, have built a robust and credible foundation that can seamlessly integrate into the infrastructure of compliance markets and Article 6. Together, we can enable these new markets to be operational and effective much more quickly than otherwise possible.”
Contacts for media inquiries:
Vivian Yeo, Manager, Corporate Communications Directorate, Strategy Group, National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) Singapore
vivian_yeo@pmo.gov.sg | +65 9337 8434
Jamie Ballantyne, Director of Marketing and Communications, Gold Standard
Jamie.ballantyne@goldstandard.org
Erdem Koch, Director of Media and Advocacy, Verra
Media@verra.org | +971 58 965 6275
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The National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) is part of the Strategy Group under the Prime Minister’s Office, which develops and implements Singapore’s domestic and international policies and strategies to tackle climate change. NCCS achieves this by adopting a Whole-of-Government approach and working with the People and Private sectors to mitigate carbon emissions in all sectors, helping Singapore adapt to the effects of climate change, harnessing economic and green growth opportunities arising from climate change, and encouraging public awareness and action on climate change. For more information, please visit the National Climate Change Secretariat website.
Gold Standard was established in 2003 by WWF and other international NGOs as a best practice standard to help the world #GrowToZero. All Gold Standard-certified projects and programmes accelerate progress toward the Net-Zero ambition of the Paris Climate Agreement while catalysing impact towards the broader Sustainable Development Goals. Its standard, Gold Standard for the Global Goals, allows climate and development initiatives to quantify, certify and maximize their impacts towards climate security and sustainable development. Certification against the standard provides the confidence that these results are measured and verified, enabling credible impact reporting. ISEAL Code Compliant and backed by a broad NGO Supporter Network, Gold Standard has 3000+ projects in over 100 countries, creating over 50 billion dollars in shared value. For more information, please visit the Gold Standard website.
Verra is a global leader helping to tackle the world’s most intractable environmental and social challenges. As a mission-driven nonprofit organization, Verra is committed to helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve livelihoods and protect natural resources by working with the private and public sectors. We support climate action and sustainable development with standards, tools and programs that credibly, transparently and robustly assess environmental and social impacts and enable funding for sustaining and scaling up projects that verifiably deliver these benefits. For more information, please visit the Verra website.