Negotiators have a "positive attitude" towards outstanding talks on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement taking place at the UN Cop 29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, bolstered by the finalisation of crediting mechanism standards yesterday.
The adoption of two key Article 6.4 standards on Monday night kicks off remaining talks on a very positive note, Switzerland's lead negotiator on international carbon markets under Article 6, Simon Fellermeyer, said.
The approval has set the mood for remaining negotiations, lead Article 6 negotiator for New Zealand Jacqui Ruesga added. Article 6 of the Paris accord aims to help set rules on global carbon trade.
Negotiators have already seen a more constructive attitude to discussions since the failed talks at Cop 28 in Dubai last December, Ruesga said. This was spurred on by disappointment at the lack of outcome last year, and supported by a number of informal meetings organised in the lead-up to June's Bonn climate conference, as well as increasing direction from heads of delegation on the subject.
Divergence persists on some issues, but negotiators still have this positive attitude, Ruesga said.
Different sides have also begun communicating the reasons behind their positions more clearly, Article 6 negotiator for Colombia Adriana Gutierrez added, which she hopes will help bring a result this year.
Outstanding questions include how to deal with reporting inconsistencies and credit authorisations.
Countries also still disagree on the question of whether Article 6.2's international registry should be capable of holding internationally transferable mitigation outcome (Itmo) units, or simply provide an accounting function.
But talks on this point are progressing along the lines of deciding which potential functions of the registry could be integrated or dropped in the view of opposing sides, Ruesga said.
The first ever Itmo transfer, which took place between Switzerland and Thailand earlier this year, would have been much easier through such a registry, Fellermeyer said.
Gutierrez expects most remaining topics to be concluded ahead of Cop 30 in Belem, Brazil, next year. But some smaller, more technical elements are "bound to stick through" to the next summit, Ruesga said.
There is not much appetite to reopen most elements for discussion next year, Fellermeyer said, meaning it could be that they are either concluded in Baku or left in a state of "constructive ambiguity".
Agreement in Baku on the remaining Article 6 elements is important to give confidence to potential participants, Fellermeyer said, having encountered parties who declined to cooperate through the mechanism owing to a lack of visibility on the rules.
