UNDP collaborates with an analytics company to enhance Article 6 credits in Africa
The Carbon Data Access Partnership (CaDAP), a new initiative launched by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and analytics company Sylvera, aims to provide African governments with comprehensive carbon credit data, enabling them to participate more effectively in carbon markets. Aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, CaDAP offers significant potential for African nations to access carbon finance by enabling participation in international carbon markets through transparent, robust data infrastructures and carbon credit mechanisms.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement establishes mechanisms for countries to cooperate internationally using carbon markets to meet their climate targets (NDCs). It includes two key components:
- Article 6.2: Allows bilateral trading of carbon credits between governments via Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs), with strict reporting and accounting to avoid double counting.
- Article 6.4: Creates a UN-governed carbon-crediting mechanism—the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism—that issues "A6.4 Emission Reductions," succeeding Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism, focusing on real, additional, verifiable emission reductions aligned with sustainable development goals.
For African nations, leveraging CaDAP means access to reliable carbon data and national carbon registries that are critical for credible participation in these mechanisms. National carbon registries serve as trusted digital platforms to record carbon credit lifecycles, ensuring transparency, traceability, and compliance with international standards, all essential for market confidence and attracting carbon finance investments. These registries bridge policy with market action, supporting African countries' capacity to demonstrate emissions reductions and trade carbon credits internationally.
The potential benefits for African nations are numerous:
- Entry into emerging global carbon markets under Article 6, unlocking new finance streams for climate mitigation and sustainable development projects.
- Support for low-carbon development pathways through enhanced transparency and data access.
- Facilitation of partnerships with global buyers, including from jurisdictions like the EU, which plans limited use of international credits under Article 6 from 2036 to meet ambitious climate targets.
However, several challenges remain, including:
- Developing robust national carbon registries and data management systems to meet stringent international standards.
- Building technical and institutional capacity to implement, monitor, and report emission reductions credibly.
- Ensuring environmental integrity and avoiding risks of double counting or over-crediting in line with Article 6 rules.
- Navigating complex governance requirements to manage carbon credit issuance and transfers effectively.
- Balancing carbon market participation with domestic climate policies and sustainable development priorities.
Africa holds immense potential for high-integrity carbon projects, but carbon credits have often been undervalued due to limited access to reliable data and standardised rating mechanisms. CaDAP aims to address these issues, helping African governments engage more effectively with carbon markets and inform policymaking decisions.
Allister Furey, CEO of Sylvera, believes Africa has a critical role in the journey to net zero. As Furey notes, "Africa is home to a wealth of natural carbon sinks and renewable energy resources, making it a key player in the global effort to combat climate change." With initiatives like CaDAP, African nations stand to gain from international carbon finance but must overcome structural, technical, and governance challenges to fully capitalize on these global cooperation mechanisms.
[1] UNDP. (2022). Carbon Data Access Partnership (CaDAP). [online] Available at: https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/ourwork/climatechange/carbon-data-access-partnership.html
[2] Sylvera. (2022). Carbon Data Access Partnership (CaDAP). [online] Available at: https://www.sylvera.io/cadap
[3] World Resources Institute. (2021). Africa's Role in Carbon Markets. [online] Available at: https://www.wri.org/insights/blog/2021/09/africas-role-carbon-markets
[4] European Commission. (2021). EU Climate Law: Aiming for climate neutrality by 2050. [online] Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/clima/policies/strategies/2050_en
[5] Climate Action Tracker. (2022). Africa's Climate Action. [online] Available at: https://climateactiontracker.org/countries/africa/
- The Carbon Data Access Partnership (CaDAP) provides African governments with comprehensive carbon credit data, facilitating their participation in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and enabling access to carbon finance through the international carbon markets.
- Involvement in CaDAP offers African nations the potential to demonstrate emissions reductions and trade carbon credits internationally, supporting low-carbon development pathways and attracting finance investments for climate mitigation and sustainable development projects.
