Planning for a year of ‘process operation’

Bonn talks held last month by the UN and the way forward: IETA unedited

[International Emissions Trading Association: Pedro Venzon 
International Policy Advisor, IETA]

The mid-year negotiations at the Bonn Climate Change Conference intend to pave the way for Parties to advance their understanding of technical issues and set the work mode for the second half of the year. However, the conference is also essential to identify how close (or far away) Parties are to reaching key decisions at the next COP.

The fact that last month’s meeting agenda was only approved in the final days of negotiations is illustrative and indicates a bumpy road ahead toward COP 28.

The main point of divergence was related to the proposed inclusion of the “mitigation work programme” in the agenda by the EU. This was heavily opposed by those countries that were more concerned with ensuring the financial support needed from developed countries to enable implementation in developing countries.

many negotiators left Bonn pessimistic

Although the agenda was eventually adopted (without the inclusion of the mitigation work programme), the issue of how countries would finance their climate actions remains unclear, and many negotiators left Bonn pessimistic.

Moreover, negotiations in Bonn did not clarify how the conclusion of the first Global Stock Take would be achieved at COP 28 and whether the outcome would emphasise historical responsibilities or be more forward-looking, to drive ambition.

However, in Article 6, where the negotiations are increasingly technical and focused on operational details, Parties managed to advance their understanding of technical issues to move forward with their mode of work for the second semester, with Parties requesting the Secretariat to draft technical papers and organise workshops – although different perspectives remain over multiple topics.

Article 6.2 negotiators faced a packed agenda, but the key issues discussed were registries, tracking, and reporting.

The decentralised nature of Article 6.2 means that their design can vary considerably from country to country, which can also pose challenges to finding solutions that will work for everyone.

Fortunately, the details currently being discussed do not significantly impact the implementation of carbon market mechanisms on the ground, with multiple frontrunners already engaging with such approaches.

The discussions on Article 6.4 involved only three topics (authorisation, connection between the international registry and mechanism registry, and emission avoidance and conservation enhancements), as most of the work must be undertaken by a 12-member supervisory body that meets regularly throughout the year.

To discuss cross-cutting themes between Articles 6.2 and 6.4, such as authorisation and the interoperability of registries, Parties also agreed to mandate the Secretariat to organise joint technical workshops and informal consultations. 

The perception is that we are running out of time: IETA

Parties need to take a more active role in these talks to build bridges, overcome differences, and progress in critical issues to allow carbon markets to unlock private investment in mitigation actions and deliver emission reductions and climate finance in this decade. To do so, the business community needs a clear and stable regulatory framework to operate.

To help Parties recognise the ongoing work and progress on integrity that has been made outside the negotiation rooms, address critical topics to operationalise Article 6.4, and expand the implementation of Article 6.2 for achieving the Paris Agreement goals, IETA will keep promoting capacity building activities through its special initiative the Business Partnership for Market Implementation (B-PMI). By doing so, we aim to connect businesses and governments and to close the knowledge gap in order to achieve more efficient carbon policies and promote greater engagement with Article 6. We believe that by doing so, we also help parties to build a common understanding of technical issues on Article 6 and move forward with negotiations under the UNFCCC process.

Pedro Venzon 
International Policy Advisor, IETA

For more information about IETA, check out www.ieta.org

(Added IETA statements)