UN introduces carbon credit reserve for clean cookstove projects — Climate Home News

The supervisory body of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 carbon market mechanism has approved rules for projects distributing cleaner cookstoves. From now on, such projects must set aside a portion of carbon credits to offset the risk of losing trees that were not cut down thanks to reduced use of firewood or charcoal. Climate Home News reports.

The regulator approved two methodologies: for programmes distributing more efficient stoves that burn less wood or charcoal, and for projects switching households to appliances powered by electricity or liquefied petroleum gas. These are the first UN mechanism rules specifically designed for such projects.

A reserve for forest loss

Projects involving more efficient stoves receive credits for emission reductions associated with preserving trees that could otherwise have been cut down and burned for fuel. However, subsequent loss of these trees due to fires, droughts, logging or land clearing could negate the claimed climate benefits.

Project developers must transfer a specified share of credits to a buffer pool rather than sell them. The size of the reserve will be calculated separately for natural risks, including fires, droughts and hurricanes, and for risks caused by human activity, including deforestation.

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Risks and possible reductions

For natural risks, local indicators calculated using new modelling by independent scientists will be applied. The supervisory body also allowed countries and developers to propose alternative values, but these must be reviewed by the mechanism’s experts and approved by the regulator.

For risks related to human activity, a baseline indicator of 20% has been set. It can be reduced by no more than two-thirds if the host country has a forest-sector emissions reduction plan, a long-term climate strategy and the UN REDD+ forest protection framework programme.

According to a UN source, at the lowest risk level and with all possible reductions in place, improved cookstove projects must reserve at least 9% of credits associated with preserved wood. In regions with higher natural risks or without REDD+ programmes, this share will be significantly higher.