Sylvera, a leading carbon data platform, today announces that it has rated a cookstove project in Ghana, credits of which are being bought by Switzerland to count towards the nation’s targets under the Paris Agreement. This is the first time an Article 6 project has been given an independent, external rating of quality.
With the credits now authorised for transfer, they will become recognised as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. While ITMOs are subject to specific integrity requirements, the climate impact of carbon credits is highly dependent on project-specific factors. As nations increasingly utilise ITMOs to meet their Paris Agreement goals, ratings of projects is essential to ensure investments are going towards meaningful climate action.
Sylvera’s unparalleled market expertise, ratings, data visibility, and tools assist governments, corporates and financial institutions to invest with confidence in real climate impact.
The project received the joint highest Sylvera rating for a cookstoves project, reflecting the relatively conservative approach to estimating carbon reduction compared to other projects. Improved cookstoves are a popular project type in the voluntary carbon markets and are designed to be more efficient and cleaner than burning traditional cookstoves. They typically seek to deliver additional benefits beyond carbon avoidance, such as health benefits, reduced deforestation and social and economic benefits for households in developing countries.
Allister Furey, Founder and CEO of Sylvera, said: “Country to country trading under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is a crucial mechanism for the global transition to net zero. As a scalable and potentially effective method for countries to channel investment towards genuine carbon projects, governments are increasingly looking to carbon markets in order to meet their climate goals.
Rigorous, science-backed ratings are essential in creating a consistent standard of quality and fostering trust and collaboration among countries. This landmark rating is a critical step in helping to build an effective market that can drive substantial climate action, and all Article 6 early movers should be commended for leading the way.”
Switzerland is recognised as a pioneer of Article 6.2 transfers, alongside Singapore. Ghana has also shown significant leadership by being among the first host countries to publish a detailed Article 6 framework.
The news follows the announcement of a partnership between Sylvera and the government of Singapore last year which is focussed on assessing ITMO quality as part of the country’s plans to combine Article 6 purchases with requirements under its carbon tax legislation.