ADB Workshop on Policy Architecture for High Integrity Carbon Markets under the Paris Agreement
Carbon markets have emerged as a powerful mechanism to incentivize emissions reduction and channel domestic and international finance into climate mitigation activities. As countries make decisions on whether and how they might engage with carbon markets what strategies as well as legal and policy framework considerations must they understand, assess and evaluate to design and implement high-integrity carbon markets?
This invite only workshop is designed to convene policymakers in ADB’s Developing Member Countries (ADB DMCs), representatives from market standards, project developers, and other stakeholders to discuss and exchange knowledge on how to operationalize carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the voluntary carbon markets (VCM). It aims to design a holistic policy architecture for high-integrity carbon markets in Asia and the Pacific by:
- establishing a carbon market strategy that aligns with each of ADB DMCs' context and objectives for country engagement in international cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the role of VCM, including the legal nature of carbon credits and how they are generated and transferred;
- provide a high-level post-COP29 overview of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and its implications for international cooperation;
- introduce the ADB’s key publication on ‘National Strategies for Carbon Markets under the Paris Agreement: Making Informed Policy Decisions’ (published in 2023) and a newly published ‘Legislative Options Framework and accompanying Implementing Guidelines for the VCM’, which presents key issues to be considered by countries when making decisions on whether and how they might engage with carbon markets through the perspective of the VCM.
Registration
This is a ‘by invitation only’ workshop. Invited participants are encouraged to register directly through the registration link included in the formal letter of invitation.
View the Proposed Agenda here.
Day 1 | 10 December 2024
8:30 – 9:00am Registration & Welcome Coffee/Tea
9:00 – 9:30am Opening Ceremony
9:30 – 10:00am Group Photo and Break
TECHNICAL SESSIONS
10:00 – 10:15am Trading for Tomorrow: A Carbon Credit Journey
An interactive session involving role play providing a snapshot of the journey of a carbon credit – from its creation to how it ultimately helps to tackle climate change.
10:15 – 11:00am Session 1: International Carbon Market Opportunities – From Ambition to Action
The session brings together carbon market players from both the supply and demand side to highlight success stories in the transport, energy and nature-based solutions spaces and discuss opportunities and challenges in further scaling up carbon markets in the Asia and the Pacific region.
11:00am – 12:00pm Session 2: Article 6 of the Paris Agreement
This session brings together experts and policymakers working to operationalize Article 6 to deep dive into the current updates on operationalizing Article 6 and what countries are doing to set up Article 6 frameworks.
12:00 – 1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30 – 2:30pm Session 3: Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) in the Paris Era
This session convenes experts and policymakers working to take advantage of VCM. The session covers current updates on VCM, global best practices and guidelines to ensure integrity in the market, how countries are thinking about engaging with VCM and general market observations.
2:30 – 3:30pm Session 4: Navigating the Lifecycle of Carbon Projects – From Project Development to Credit Monetization
This session covers the entire lifecycle of carbon credits from project development to credit monetization – as explained by experts in the field. It delves into how carbon crediting projects are developed and who the players are, as well as the process for issuing, registering and tracking carbon credits. The session also considers issues relating to transfer and trading of carbon credits, how to deal with the risk of reversal and how to avoid double counting. Finally, credit exchanges and buyers share insights on how to monetize carbon credits.
3:30 – 3:45pm Coffee/Tea Break
3:45 – 4:30am Session 5: Benefit Sharing, Sustainable Development Impacts & Social and Environmental Safeguards
In this session, experts discuss benefit-sharing arrangements in the different types of carbon crediting projects and showcase good examples. It also discusses project proponent’s requirements to ensure integrity and social and environmental safeguards.
Day 2 | 11 December 2024
8:30 – 9:00am Welcome Coffee/Tea
9:00 – 10:00am Session 6: Developing National Strategies for International Carbon Markets
This session brings together experts who supported the development of ADB’s knowledge resource entitled National Strategies for Carbon Markets under the Paris Agreement: Making Informed Policy Choices, as well as policymakers from ADB’s developing member countries who have made progress in developing national strategies for international carbon markets to share their experiences.
10:00 – 10:30am Coffee/Tea Break
10:30 – 11:30am Session 7: Introduction to ADB’s Guidance Framework to Implement and Operationalize Article 6
This session introduces and discusses the Guidance Framework developed by ADB to implement and operationalize Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
11:30 – 12:30pm Session 8: Developing National Carbon Market Legal and Regulatory Frameworks and Legal Nature of Voluntary Carbon Credits
This session sheds light on how a country’s legal and regulatory framework can support the overall integrity of carbon markets including mitigating against the risk of negative impacts from VCM projects. It will highlight the importance of defining the legal nature of voluntary carbon credits and introduce the participants to ADB’s Carbon Legislative Options Framework and its accompanying Implementation Guidelines which can serve as a legal blueprint for policymakers, government officials and other stakeholders in the design of carbon market laws and regulations.
12:30 – 1:30pm Lunch Break
1:30 – 2:45pm Session 9: Group Discussion – Experience Sharing and Next Steps
This session convenes a discussion on the way forward - how ADB developing member countries can take advantage of the frameworks developed by ADB and what support they need to build high integrity international carbon markets.
2:45 – 3:00pm Closing Ceremony
The closing ceremony includes high-level speakers who provide their perspectives about emerging carbon market opportunities.
3:00 – 5:00 pm Networking/Refreshments
- National Strategies for Carbon Markets under the Paris Agreement: Making Informed Policy Choices | Asian Development Bank (adb.org)
- Upcoming: Carbon Legislative Options Framework and Implementing Guidelines