Day 3: November 11
Greetings from Antalya and COP31!
Usually, the High-Level segment of COPs take place right at the start of the two weeks, though it's hard to imagine how that would have worked here, based on the general experience we had of Monday. It's taken a couple of days, but the logistical wrinkles are being gradually ironed out, and political leaders were wafted smoothly into the venue this morning to kick off the day's proceedings.
Opening the segment, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres repeated the emerging theme of this COP, which is electrification.
He urged countries to "accelerate clean electrification and the transition away from fossil fuels. That means more electric buses, cars and trucks; more efficient electric heating and cooling; more industries powered by clean electricity."
"Second, build the grids and storage to power the clean energy age. Build storage. Speed up connections. And link power systems across borders."
UNFCCC Executive Secretary Simon Stiell told leaders that actions already taken are "driving down the global temperature rise from well over four degrees – a death sentence for every economy – to around 2.6 degrees today."
And Australia's President of Negotiations Chris Bowen urged his audience to "continue the drive to deploy the cheapest form of energy – renewables."
"Harness the demand from data centres to accelerate the uptake of the cheapest form of energy; redouble our efforts to improve energy sovereignty, reliability and security by building more diverse forms of energy less reliant on fragile supply chains."
"Electrify what can be electrified. And recognise that a time of concurrent global challenges needs more, not less, global cooperation to rise to those challenges."
Some observers noted with approval that some leaders' statements were focusing more on concrete, specific actions that can be and are being taken; they cited examples such as Turkey's "35 by 35" electrification pledge, Brazil's roadmaps for transitioning away from fossil fuels, their Tropical Forests Forever Fund (which got an $80 million boost from philanthropies) and Europe's list of goals and achievements on electrification and climate finance.
And while discussions on the main agenda items continued at the far end of the COP venue, carbon markets got a lift from an unexpected quarter on Wednesday as well, when China unveiled a new coalition on carbon markets: the Initiative for Enhancing International Cooperation on High Quality Carbon Crediting Markets, formed by China, Türkiye and Ethiopia.
While some observers were less than excited by the emergence of (yet) another coalition, we believe this latest one demonstrates that China is starting to take a leading role by setting up a markets initiative with two COP Presidencies. At the launch event, China's Li Gao emphasised his country's commitment to the multilateral process, and said that he sees carbon credits as a global public good.
In the negotiations
Today there were two rounds of informal consultations on how to fund the work under Article 6.2. After opening statements from Parties and negotiating groups, discussions moved on to the draft text, and the more complex issues began to surface.
On one option to fund Article 6.2 activities through the UNFCCC core budget, there is broad recognition that some functions need to be covered by the UN. The clearest example is the technical expert reviews, which need stable, core funding to keep the process transparent and independent.
Parties also agreed that voluntary contributions will continue to be welcome. Some Parties proposed creating a dedicated trust fund so that all Article 6.2 resources are managed in one place, and Parties asked for a breakdown of Article 6.2 spending by category.
The more difficult point is a proposal by some Parties to charge a usage-based fee for the international registry. This triggered a debate on who should be exempt. Some Parties argued that small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) should not pay, while others said developing countries in general should also be exempt.
In response, some developed countries asked that developing countries contribute as well. The risk we see is that fees could become a barrier, effectively excluding some developing countries from using the mechanism because of cost. A new draft text will probably be available early tomorrow morning, and discussions will continue in the coming day.
A quick note to add that there are at the moment no official documents relating to Article 6.4 available from the UNFCCC. There is, as mentioned above, a draft negotiating text for Article 6.2, which we will share if it becomes available. And you can find a report from the latest meeting of the Glasgow Committee on Non-market Approaches here.
Today at COP31
Team IETA shifted into high gear on Wednesday, with a busy schedule at an always-crowded IETA Business Hub, as well as a dizzying programme of speaking engagements at other pavilions. It's a far cry from COPs of old when IETA was reliably the only place in town to have a conversation about markets!
Our annual Article 6 side event, led by Andrea Bonzanni, drew a packed pavilion which spilled over into the walkways, as delegates came to listen to host country representatives detailing their progress on implementation.
Switzerland said it has 16 bilateral agreements and 21 authorised activities; its implementation effort is on track, but policy beyond 2030 remains unclear. Brazil has approved its Article 6.2 regulations: 50 million tonnes may be authorised for 2026–2030 and 100 million for 2031–2035. Initial priorities are removals and methane; expansion is expected to be considered in the next semester.
Chile has 18 authorisations in progress, 13 additional approved projects or programs, and 11 letters of interest representing about 24 million tonnes of CO2. Chile expects over half of those reductions to remain unauthorised to support its NDC.
Meanwhile, Tanzania’s priority activity lists and authorisation shares are still being developed, but will focus on energy, forests, waste, and agriculture, all of which have mitigation potential.
Participants said they favoured improving review guidance and cost-effectiveness without reopening the Article 6 rulebook before the scheduled 2028 review. They also highlighted uncertainty over how significant inconsistencies affect use of units.
IETA's Jeremy Rubin moderated a carbon accounting dialogue where a variety of voices and stakeholders shared how they view the landscape as accounting moves from a purely environmental conversation to one of trade, access, and competition – with major implications for market-based climate action.
The session included fireside chats with Tim Mohin (CEO of the GHG Protocol) and the ISO's Benoit Desforges on the harmonisation taking place between the two standard-setting organisations as part of the COP30 Action Agenda.
Speakers discussed the role of the GHG Protocol’s Actions & Markets Instruments Standard, which aims to credibly allow for corporate reporting of market-based climate action alongside emissions inventories, and how ISO is leveraging its long standing expertise in the area. The planned co-branded Corporate Standard is up for consultation in Q2 2027, with aim of publication in 2028.
VCMI's Mark Kenber described how he sees carbon market harmonisation through elements like the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets. Alexa Piccolo (head of the Inclusive Forum on Carbon Mitigation Approaches Coordination team at OECD) shared how the OECD is thinking about spillover effects of climate policies across borders. And Ben Rattenbury of Sylvera outlined the relationship between standards, and implications for markets for Environmental Attribute Certificates and carbon credits.
Other panelists broke down the carbon accounting and market conversation from a variety of vantage points: accounting & assurance, chemicals & products, law and transactions, credit & transparent reporting, and technology services and products. Highlights included what gaps remain, what is driving product-level differentiation, and the varied rules and regulations currently on the books across compliance markets and jurisdictions.
Agustina Cundari participated in a session hosted by the Republic of Korea's Presidential Commission on Climate Crisis Response, together with the Korea Research Institute on Climate Change, on the challenges facing implementation of Article 6. The timing was relevant: Korea is preparing its first international transfer of ITMOs in 2027, while only a few projects worldwide have so far delivered actual emission reductions or completed transfers.
The event aimed to address the practical obstacles that still slow down Article 6 projects, from authorisation and host-country governance to financing and private-sector participation.
Agustina also moderated a panel discussion on scaling up international mitigation projects and private-sector participation.
Speakers agreed that scaling Article 6 requires clear and predictable authorisation processes and early coordination between governments and developers. It also requires financing that can bridge the gap between upfront investment and credit issuance, along with long-term demand and price visibility from acquiring countries to give private capital the confidence to invest.
A key highlight of the event was the announcement that Korea and Nepal will sign a Memorandum of Understanding, a further step in strengthening their bilateral cooperation under Article 6.2.
Last but by no means least, IETA and China Beijing Green Exchange held a signing ceremony for a memorandum of understanding on international collaboration on carbon markets. Under the terms of this agreement IETA and CBGEX will foster dialogue between policymakers, regulators, and domestic and international market participants. The two organisations will also work together on technical cooperation, knowledge exchange and the promotion of high-integrity carbon market practices.
Tomorrow at COP31
All event times are listed in Antalya time (TST), which is three hours ahead of GMT and five hours behind Singapore time.
The IETA Business Pavilion is located in Delegation Pavilion Area B2, on stand C525. Our Boardroom is in the Delegation Office area C3, stand DO-17.
On Thursday, IETA will again be represented at a variety of events across the COP campus:
- Keeping Standing Forests Standing: Financing High-Integrity Jurisdictional REDD+ (1000 TST, Papua New Guinea Pavilion);
- De-risking Aviation Targets: Solutions to the CORSIA Challenge (1230 TST, Think Negative Pavilion)
- From Registry Infrastructure to ITMO: Building host-country confidence via international standards (1530 TST, Singapore Pavilion)
- Straight talk: PACM and international carbon markets under Article 6 (1700 TST, SPE6 Theatre)
- Article 6 engagement: Going from intent to transaction (1830 TST, SPE6 Theatre)
And at the IETA Business Hub, the focus widens to nature, nuclear and north America (among others):
- Building the New Industrial Advantage (1000 TST);
- Demand Innovation for Carbon Removal: New Models for New Buyers (1100 TST);
- Roundtable on Making Resilience Investable (1200 TST);
- Advancing Paris Agreement Implementation Through Nuclear Energy and Carbon Markets (1300 TST):
- The Next Great Investment: Resilient Places (1400 TST);
- Official COP31 Launch: Nature Integrity Methodology (NIM): Unlocking Nature Finance Through High-Integrity Nature Credits (hosted by Environmental Markets Fairness Foundation (EMFF) & Cercarbono, 1500 TST);
- Peru’s Amazon: Bridging the Digital Divide, Advancing Climate Action (1630 TST), and
- North American Subnational Climate Action and Accelerating Community Investment (1800 TST).
The full COP31 IETA Business Hub agenda can be found online.