JISC 26 -- Report of the twenty-sixth meeting of the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee

JISC 26 -- Report of the twenty-sixth meeting of the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee

The report of the twenty-sixth meeting of the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (13-14 September 2011), including its annexes, is available on
the UNFCCC JI website, at:
<http://ji.unfccc.int/Sup_Committee/Meetings/index.html>.

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Accreditation of independent entities
Annex 1 - Procedure for accrediting independent entities by the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (Version 07)
Matters relating to determination and verification reports
Annex 2 - Guidance on criteria for baseline setting and monitoring (Version 03)
Management plan and resources for the work on joint implementation
Annex 3 - Status of resources and contributions
Other matters
Annex 4 - Recommendations on options for building on the approaches embodied in JI as a part of the CMP’s first review of the JI guidelines
Annex 5 - Provisional agenda of twenty-seventh meeting of the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee

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Highlights -- Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee, 26th meeting
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Bonn, 14 September 2011 -– At its 26th meeting the Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC) agreed on recommendations aimed at ensuring the JI mechanism's viability into the future as a tool to incentivize private sector investment in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and allowing deeper global cuts in emissions to be made.

“Joint implementation is a mature, well functioning mechanism. The recommendations we’ve come up with build on JI as we know it today, and place it as a key mitigation tool for governments beyond 2012,” said JISC Chair Muhammed Quamrul Chowdhury.

The value of JI, in particular the international oversight currently under the JISC, rests in its ability to give integrity and value to the measurement and issuance of offset credits, the JISC said in its report for consideration by Kyoto Protocol Parties in Durban, South Africa, later this year.

“We are making far-reaching recommendations on the future operational model of the joint implementation mechanism for the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. It’s now up to Parties to consider our recommendations and recognize, in a clear way in Durban, the value of the mechanism in the international response to climate change,” said Mr. Chowdhury.

The JISC sees a need for the mechanism to evolve beyond 2012 into a more decentralized mechanism, which host Parties can implement at the national level “under the international guidance and oversight of a new governing body,” under the authority of, and accountable to, the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, said the JISC. The document, adopted at JISC26, also calls for the replacement of the current two-track approach with a single, unified project cycle, in accordance with common guidance that builds on the strengths of each of the current tracks, “especially with regard to measures to ensure international oversight.”

Currently, under JI Track 1 all oversight is in the hands of national governments, and under Track 2 responsibility for quality rests with the JISC, and ultimately the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.

“We suggest to replace the current two-track approach with a single unified project cycle. And, we believe that JI needs to evolve into a more decentralized mechanism that is open to a wide range of activities, including those at the project, programmatic, sector and policy levels,” said JISC Vice-Chair Wolfgang Seidel.

The new governing body would become a forum for countries to collaborate in ensuring the effectiveness of the new JI.

“The mechanism can be further developed, in a way that would create even more benefits and flexibility for countries hosting projects,” said Mr. Seidel.

In preparing its recommendations, the JISC was able to draw on inputs received in a series of consultations, including a technical workshop held just prior to the meeting, that brought together private and public sector stakeholders and members of the JISC.

At JISC26, members also recommended that further consideration be given to the development of a unified accreditation process for third-party certifiers working under JI and the clean development mechanism, the other project-based mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol.

As well, the JISC recommended a mixture of fees on accreditation and issuance cases to fully fund the work of the governing body in a sustainable and predictable way.