The Tribune

By YOURI KEMP

Tribune Business Reporter

ykemp@tribunemedia.net

The Bahamas is seeking to exploit a global treaty that calls for countries to “voluntarily co-operate” on slashing their greenhouse gas emissions through its Climate Change and Carbon Markets Initiatives (CCCMI) Bill.

Charles Hamilton, climate change advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office, told a Town Hall meeting on Wednesday night that Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement - drafted at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference - provides the catalyst for The Bahamas to develop its own carbon credits and facilitate their trading.

Explaining the intent behind Article 6.8, he said: “There is no quid-pro-quo. There is no trading of money to get carbon credits, but they know that the time is limited, and so whatever mechanisms that can be done to ensure that finances or opportunities are traded in for countries to be able to reduce and adapt to climate change has to be done.”

While the rules surrounding Article 6 of the Paris Agreement “need to be fully fleshed out” in terms of how they operate, it consists of nine paragraphs providing principles for how countries can “pursue voluntary co-operation” to reach their climate targets.

Article 6.8 recognises non-market approaches to promoting climate change mitigation and adaptation. It introduces co-operation through finance, technology transfer and capacity building, where no trading of emission reductions is involved.

Mr Hamilton added: “Countries like The Bahamas need to ensure that we have reporting in place for Article 6 and UN carbon credit trading needs to be in place. We already have that through some capacity building initiatives that are being done in-country. Parties also need to be able to report or provide a national inventory report or greenhouse gas inventory report. Our country is also doing that.”

The Bahamas also has to periodically update its National Climate Action Plans (NDC) in addition to ensuring that a legislative framework is established so there “are mechanisms in place for authorising the use of a carbon credit, and that there are arrangements in place for tracking a carbon credit”.

“We’re looking at building a registry to be able to house the information and ensure that there’s proper accounting for the carbon credits, and ensuring that our greenhouse gas inventory is improving with every single cycle to ensure that we’re not messing around with numbers,” Mr Hamilton said. “So, additionally, we have to ensure that whatever we do with our carbon credits, our implementation of our national action plans or NDCs has to happen.”