Background:

Several countries in Western and Central Africa have communicated through their NDCs and other avenues their interest to explore climate finance opportunities through Article 6. However, these countries are challenged by limited capacity and understanding of the requirements needed to prepare and make them ready for Article 6 opportunities. Ghana has made significant progress in the operationalization of Article 6.2, including being the first country to launch a framework, developing a national carbon market registry, authorizing a project, submitting an initial report to the UNFCCC’s centralized accounting and reporting platform.  

Against this backdrop, the RCC WACA supported by the West Africa Development Bank (BOAD) has documented the key decision points, lessons and challenges. The UNFCCC and its RCC WACA, and Ghana’s National Designate Authority (Carbon Market Office hosted by the Environmental Protection Agency) have collaborated to develop a knowledge material around Ghana’s carbon markets journey and experiences. Showcasing the product at the COP29 will enhance the visibility and access to the product by countries with interest or those that have already started the Article 6 participation process.                      

Objectives:

The side-event aims to achieve the following objectives: 

• To enhance the understanding and capacity of participating countries regarding the operational requirements and institutional frameworks needed to engage effectively with Article 6 mechanisms. 

• To facilitate the exchange of best practices, lessons learned, and key decision points from Ghana’s successful implementation of Article 6 to support other African countries in their climate finance efforts.  

• To highlight Ghana's achievements in carbon market development, positioning the country as a leader and model for other nations pursuing similar paths in climate action.  

• To raise awareness about the potential benefits of Article 6 participation, encouraging more countries to explore and engage with climate finance opportunities available through the mechanism. 

• To provide insights and recommendations that can help policymakers and practitioners in developing supportive frameworks for carbon market initiatives within their own countries.