Carbon Markets, NGOs and IATA Urge Countries at COP24 Climate Talks to Adopt Robust Rules on Double Counting

(GreenAir Online) Carbon market representatives, IATA and Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) have urged countries currently meeting at the UNFCCC’s COP24 in Poland to adopt strong rules to avoid double counting on emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement and ICAO’s CORSIA carbon offsetting scheme. This week, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), the US-based EDF and a group of 40 companies, business groups and NGOs issued a ‘Katowice Declaration on Sound Carbon Accounting’. Double counting could occur when a country claims a reduction of emissions against its climate pledge under Paris when that same reduction has been sold under a carbon offset programme to, say, an airline in respect of its CORSIA obligations. Robust rules will give airlines confidence that the emissions units they buy bring about genuine reductions, says IATA.

At COP24, ICAO held a side event earlier this week to provide an update by head of environment Jane Hupe on CORSIA implementation, in particular concerning monitoring, reporting and verification rules that come into force from January. Presentations were also made by government representatives from France and South Korea.

Hupe also said the ICAO Council had agreed at its November Session that the results of work carried out by ICAO’s environmental committee CAEP on informal testing of some emissions unit programmes against criteria on emissions units (EUC) could be used as a basis by the Technical Advisory Body (TAB) when it is established. The ICAO Assembly A39-3 CORSIA resolution requested the Council to set up the TAB that will make recommendations to the Council on eligible emissions units. The Council also agreed to initiate a process to establish the TAB by inviting the nomination of experts from ICAO Member States.

The composition of TAB experts and terms of reference for the TAB are to be discussed at the next Session of the Council in March 2019. Hupe said CORSIA issues would be reviewed at the ICAO Assembly later next year.

At present there is no indication of when clear guidance will be forthcoming on types of units that will be eligible under CORSIA. The aviation industry and carbon markets recently renewed their calls for a decision to be taken quickly so that both sectors are well-prepared in advance of the full introduction of CORSIA in 2021. READ MORE

Meanwhile, NGOs WWF and Carbon Market Watch (CMW) have called on countries negotiating the Paris Rulebook at COP24 to agree to end the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) in 2020 when the Kyoto Protocol is replaced by the Paris accord.

CMW says continuing with the “seriously flawed” CDM would undermine the Paris Agreement and the UNFCCC should send a signal to sectors like aviation that relying on CDM credits to pursue climate objectives would fall well short of the necessary ambition levels.

WWF agrees that CDM and JI credits should not be made available for use by countries under Paris or by airlines under CORSIA. However, it adds that CDM or JI mitigation activities – and the projects based on those activities – could be recertified under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 mechanism, known as the Sustainable Development Mechanism. READ MORE