Voluntary Carbon Markets

The Supervisory Body published the Methodology Guidance and the Removal Guidance to be presented for discussion in COP28.

By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. Davies, Joshua T. Bledsoe, Michael Dreibelbis, Qingyi Pan, and Brett Frazer*

After two years of discussion, the Supervisory Body (SB) responsible for determining the guidelines for Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement published two sets of recommendations, which will be presented for consideration and adoption by the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) at the 28th annual Conference of Parties (COP28).

The first recommendation came on November 16, 2023, when the SB published guidelines on the requirements for the development and assessment of Article 6.4 mechanism methodologies (the Methodology Guidance).[i] The second recommendation followed the next day, when the SB published guidelines on activities involving removals under the Article 6.4 mechanism (the Removal Guidance).[ii]

The Claims Code seeks to ensure the integrity of voluntary carbon markets to support achievement of the Paris Agreement goals.

By Jean-Philippe Brisson, Paul A. DaviesSarah E. ForttBetty M. Huber, Alicia Robinson, and Deric Behar

The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity (VCMI) Initiative is “a multi-stakeholder platform to drive credible, net-zero aligned participation in voluntary carbon markets.” The VCMI Initiative, for which the UK government announced its support in March 2021, is co-funded by the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation and the UK Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy. A central objective of VCMI is to issue guidance for companies and other non-state actors on how carbon credits can be voluntarily used and claimed as part of credible net zero decarbonization strategies. To further this objective, VCMI published for public consultation a Provisional Claims Code of Practice (Claims Code) on June 7, 2022.