About
In December 2015, an agreement was adopted at the 21st Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris, replacing the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and providing new foundations for international climate policy from 2021 onward.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement states that emission reductions may be traded among states and that buyer states may thereby outperform their national emission target or offset emissions that exceed their emission target. The conditions are (i) that the environmental integrity of emission reductions be guaranteed, (ii) that the transfer be correctly accounted for, so as to avoid any double counting, and (iii) that the transaction contribute to sustainable development. Concrete rules for the implementation of Article 6 were only established at the end of 2021 at the Conference of the Parties in Glasgow.
Switzerland announced its intention to make extensive use of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Following the rejection of the Swiss CO₂ Act, which would have specified the scope of this use, in a referendum held on 13 June 2021, it now remains to be seen how exactly Switzerland will avail itself of Article 6.
The September 2016 agreement between the Swiss Confederation and the Foundation stated that at least 20 million Swiss Francs were to be used toward funding pilot activities serving to concretise and implement the possibilities provided under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Such activities were to be consistent with Switzerland’s stance in international climate negotiations. Decisions on pilot activities were be made in consultation with the competent body of the Swiss Confederation.
Outcome
The Climate Cent Foundation carried out a call for proposals in early 2017 to source potential pilot activities. Of the 17 proposals submitted, four were followed up on (located in Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Thailand). Except for the programme in Colombia, the Foundation funded the drafting of detailed programme documentation. However, in the end only the programme Tuki Wasi in Peru was followed up on, as Peru was the only country to sign a bilateral agreement with Switzerland for the application of Article 6 ahead of the entry into force of the Paris Agreement in 2021.