Countries Reject Proposed Guidance for Article 6
After more than 12 hours of closed-door negotiations, countries rejected the Article 6 guidance that emerged late in the evening of 12 December 2023
12 December 2023 | DUBAI | Countries have rejected the latest guidance on operationalizing Articles 6.2 and 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.
As the 28th session of the Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered what were supposed to be its final hours, key discussions on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), the Global Stocktake, and Article 6 were taking place behind closed doors and expected to continue well beyond the scheduled end.
A draft negotiating text on Article 6.4 emerged late on 11 December 2023, with a revival of the avoidance vs removals debate and a request to push the issue of ecological avoidance, including avoided deforestation, down to the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) until 2028. The specific language states that the COP “requests the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice to continue its consideration of whether Article 6, paragraph 4, activities could include emission avoidance and conservation enhancement activities, as part of the review of the rules, modalities and procedures for the mechanism to be conducted by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement at its tenth session (2028).”
New draft texts emerged on the evening of the 12th, and while they looked clean, they failed to pass. We will have more details tomorrow.
Previous Coverage
COP28 Update: Progress Towards Agreement on Avoidance Under Article 6.4, but Backsliding in 6.2
African Countries Mobilize for Carbon Markets Despite Article 6 Deadlock
Analysis: Article 6.4 Talks Have Stalled in Dubai. Here’s What’s At Stake
What to Watch for Voluntary Carbon and Article 6 at COP 28
Bionic Planet Podcast
Corrections and Clarifications
This story initially referenced REDD+ credits possibly being relegated to SBSTA, but we changed this to “ecological avoidance, including avoided deforestation” to avoid confusion with REDD+ as it exists in the VCM.
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