Press Release

January 31, 2023
  • Global Environment

Ministry of the Environment of Japan signs Memorandum of Cooperation with the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development on the Implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

On January 26, 2023, MATSUZAWA Yutaka, Director-General, Global Environment Bureau, the Ministry of the Environment (MOE), Japan, and Ms. Jennifer SARA, Global Director, Climate Change Group, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), signed the Memorandum of Cooperation on Collaboration for Realization of International Carbon Markets and the Implementation of Joint Crediting Mechanism Consistent with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
 
MOE Japan and IBRD signed this Memorandum of Cooperation (MOC) to renew the Memorandum of Cooperation on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), concluded in 2019. Based on this MOC, MOE Japan and IBRD will collaborate to develop international high integrity carbon markets by promoting initiatives in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, including the JCM, and contribute to global greenhouse gas emission reductions.

Main areas of collaboration based on the MOC

MOE Japan and IBRD will utilize their respective programs and others to further promote the JCM and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.


(1) Cooperation on the Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership (A6IP)
Through A6IP, MOE Japan and IBRD will cooperate in supporting necessary capacity building to implement Article 6 in each country, by facilitating understanding of Article 6 rules, conducting training and others.


(2) Initiatives through Partnership for Market Implementation (PMI)
Based on experiences acquired through the JCM, MOE Japan will participate in programs related to PMI, towards providing human resources and promoting the implementation of Article 6 and the JCM projects.
 
*PMI is the fund established and led by the World Bank to support the design and introduction of the market mechanism (emissions trading schemes, carbon taxes, and crediting schemes, including Article 6 of the Paris Agreement) to address global warming in emerging and developing countries.


(3) Collaboration through international and regional events
MOE Japan will participate in the “Innovate4Climate (I4C),” an annual global conference on climate finance, climate investment, and climate markets, hosted by the World Bank Group, and actively disseminate information on the JCM.


(4) Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition (CPLC)
MOE Japan will participate in CPLC, an initiative of the World Bank Group to convene stakeholders of the public and private sectors to discuss and advocate carbon pricing. MOE Japan will continue to contribute to discussions on global carbon pricing by introducing Japan’s domestic initiatives.


(5) Innovative climate actions, including the Climate Market Club* and the Climate Warehouse**
MOE Japan will continue to participate in initiatives of the Climate Market Club and the Climate Warehouse, and contribute to support for capacity building towards realization of the international carbon markets in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
 
*The Climate Market Club is an initiative aimed at discussing the implementation of each mechanism from a practical perspective and exchanging views to promote it under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

**The Climate Warehouse is a data system that records and accumulates information on mitigation outcomes generated in line with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
 
Please refer to the attachment for the details of the MOC.

[Reference 1] Positioning of the JCM in the Plan for Global Warming Countermeasures (Cabinet decision, October 2021)

https://www.env.go.jp/earth/ondanka/keikaku/211022.html (Available in Japanese)
 
Japan will establish and implement the JCM in order to quantitatively evaluate contributions of Japan to GHG emission reductions and removals, which are achieved through the diffusion of, among others, leading decarbonizing technologies, products, systems, services and infrastructures as well as through the implementation of measures in developing countries and others, and in order to use such contributions to achieve Japan’s NDC. By doing so, through public-private collaborations, Japan aims to secure accumulated emission reductions and removals at the level of approximately 100 million t-CO2 by fiscal year 2030.

[Reference 2] The Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership

(1) Outline
The Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership was launched under Japan’s leadership at COP27 to promote international collaboration of capacity building for the Paris Agreement Article 6, including by sharing good practices. As of the end of January, 2023, 74 countries/organizations have participated in the partnership.

(2) Areas of work
・Facilitate understanding of A6 rules and linkages with NDCs
・Share good practices for institutional arrangements, including authorization and recording
・Develop an information platform for Article 6 implementation 
・Conduct mutual learning and training for A6 reporting and review
・Support baseline methodology (tool development etc.)
・Designing of high integrity carbon markets

(3) Official website of the Paris Agreement Article 6 Implementation Partnership
https://a6partnership.org/