Ensuring credibility of Article 6 as a means to promote ambition in climate change mitigation

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is explicitly introduced as a means to foster higher ambition. However, without additional guidance and rules, the economic incentives of carbon markets may work against increasing Parties’ ambition and could even create perverse incentives.

Regulatory gaps and market abuses have great potential to create perverse incentives that damage the environmental integrity of the Paris Agreement and may work against increasing Parties’ ambition. Given that new carbon markets are developing while negotiations on their regulation and Article 6 are ongoing, there is a need for sharing information on effective regulation and oversight, as well as additional guidance and rules.

Based on the experiences with the Kyoto mechanisms and regional ETS, the event explores approaches to generate trust and to guard the integrity of the market mechanism under the Paris Agreement. It discusses different options on how the risks can be addressed and ambition could be increased at different levels. It will present and discuss actions that individual parties could take to raise their ambition through international cooperation and showcase how this could be fostered through the design of Article 6 provisions and related rules and practices.

The speakers will discuss key market and regulatory challenges of the past and present research on principles and provisions that should guide an international carbon market such that Parties raise their ambition through international cooperation.

Speakers:

• Derik Broekhoff (SEI US)
• Prof. Dr. Michael Mehling (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)
• Raphaela Kotsch (University of Zurich and Zurich University of Applied Sciences)
• Dr. Axel Michaelowa (University of Zurich and Perspectives Climate Group)

Place: EU Pavilion, Room Brussels