Accounting Our Way Out Of Trouble?
5 June 2015
With INDCs rolling in, it’s clear that many Parties intend to use international market-based mechanisms to achieve their mitigation commitments. ECO’s main message to delegates—put in place rules to avoid double-counting mitigation efforts. Without good accounting, market mechanisms could undermine mitigation targets. The climate cannot afford the risk of both host and purchasing countries counting the same reductions to meet INDCs.
We commend the Environmental Integrity Group (EIG) for proposing criteria for the Framework for Various Approaches and next steps for a work programme.
Parties should undertake the technical work needed to ensure that claimed reductions are real, additional, permanent and verified, and that any participating system ensures overall net atmospheric benefits.
There are important lessons to be learned from the CDM. An adequate process will require sufficient time for Parties and civil society to participate in this complex work and to develop common standards and transparency procedures for linked national and UNFCCC registries.
ECO also notes that market-based reductions should be supplemental to ambitious national actions. Reference levels for carbon sinks must ensure that real emissions and removals are comprehensively captured and accounted, and are backed by science to avoid catastrophic climate change.
Delegates, accounting is important and we are running out of time. Let’s see a path towards transparent accounting and the highest environmental integrity standards.