Initially printed January 8, 2024.
2024 has barely begun and yet one more nation publishes guidelines for its carbon market: Portugal.
Within the introduction of Portuguese decree-law no. 4/2024 of January fifth, a number of elements should be talked about:
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“The creation of a voluntary carbon market in Portugal allows the involvement and participation of various agents, at the individual or organizational level, public or private, whether on the supply side, through the promotion of projects to reduce GHG emissions or sequestration of carbon generating carbon credits, whether on the demand side, through the acquisition of these credits for the purpose of offsetting residual GHG emissions or to ensure financial contributions in favor of climate action. This market, in addition to facilitating the meeting between different parties. agents, allows catalyzing private sector investments, complementing the public effort to accelerate and promote mitigation actions in the national territory.”
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“It provides for the promotion of carbon sequestration, through active agricultural and forestry management, promoting the appreciation of the territory.”
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“…natural-based solutions for carbon sequestration are not restricted to the forest, and there is an important contribution that must also be promoted in other areas, including coastal and marine ecosystems.”
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“It is also important to highlight the importance of research, innovation and knowledge production for neutrality in the different sectors of activity, especially in sectors where decarbonization technologies are still in a low maturity state.”
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“Voluntary carbon markets, by generating economic incentives to reduce emissions or increase carbon sequestration, reinforcing the cost-effectiveness of GHG mitigation measures and promoting innovative solutions and technologies, constitute an instrument that allows supporting the achievement of objectives in terms of climate action, accelerating the transition to a carbon-neutral society and reinforcing the commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Improving the state of conservation also contributes to combating biodiversity loss. of natural heritage and promoting recognition of its value…”
Nice to see that blue carbon sequestration initiatives are particularly cited. International locations like Mozambique and Madagascar are starting to emerge on this entrance, in accordance with current talks by Carbon Credit score Markets.
For the needs of growing and evaluating methodologies for every kind of carbon initiatives throughout the scope of the voluntary carbon market, the decree defines the creation of a technical committee. Portuguese voluntary carbon market initiatives are ruled by the next ideas: credibility, additionality, permanence, effectiveness, monitoring, transparency and sustainability.
About carbon credit:
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These can take the type of future carbon credit (CCF) or verified carbon credit (CCV).
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They’re tradable, and credit score flows between market brokers have to be registered on a particular digital platform.
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They’re legitimate indefinitely if they aren’t cancelled.
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If, along with carbon sequestration, they incorporate important extra advantages when it comes to biodiversity and pure capital, the willpower and monitoring of that are offered for within the respective methodology, they could be topic to identification within the registry as carbon credit +.
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Every credit score issued has a novel and traceable serial quantity related to it.
Carbon initiatives are topic to an preliminary validation course of and a periodic verification course of, by an unbiased, duly certified verifier, in accordance with the standards established by the Authorities physique chargeable for the realm of local weather motion.
The decree additionally establishes the creation of a “guarantee pool” aiming to safeguard conditions through which an unintentional reversal of sequestered emissions happens in the course of the undertaking’s length. On the time of registration, the undertaking promoter should point out whether or not he intends to contribute to the assure pool – 20% of the CCF and CCV issued – whether or not he solely intends to make use of his personal insurance coverage or whether or not he intends to make use of each choices, being obligatory to decide on, not less than least one of many choices.
And one thing of utmost significance: “carbon credits cannot be used or claimed for the purposes of complying with European or international obligations, namely for the purposes of the European Emissions Trading regime and the Carbon Emissions Compensation and Reduction regime of International Aviation or for the fulfillment of nationally determined contributions from any other party to the Paris Agreement”.
Click on on the picture beneath to learn the 29 articles of the decree-law on the Portuguese voluntary carbon market, through which the kinds of forestry carbon sequestration initiatives are thought of precedence and subsequently exempt from sure anticipated charges.
All this whereas different international locations are nonetheless debating their carbon markets and even presenting improvements that should be highlighted, such because the Inexperienced Credit score Program of India, in accordance with which “green credits” will likely be generated by actions reminiscent of sustainable agriculture, forestry, waste administration, constructing building and water administration practices, with people and entities being required to register their actions by way of the devoted app/web site of the central authorities of India. Here, remember these and a few other cases, such as those from the United Arab Emirates, South Africa and Paraguay..
