COP27 Digest: Moving towards the operationalisation of Article 6-backed carbon markets in Africa

COP27, the UN climate summit held in November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, has delivered incremental progress on technical elements of the Article 6 Rulebook agreed upon at COP26. Negotiators faced a comprehensive set of complex technical questions that needed to be resolved to operationalise Article 6-backed carbon markets. COP27 also saw a substantial increase in implementation-focused initiatives relying on carbon markets to deliver mitigation action. This may establish a duality of purpose of COP summits, advancing climate negotiations while at the same time initiating a parallel ‘action track’ that offers a forum for governments and other stakeholders to showcase and push forward their activities and initiatives.

This short study reflects on COP27 outcomes, both the technical negotiations on Article 6 and CDM transition, as well as action-oriented initiatives through the lens of African priorities. Finally, the study discusses remaining work for the operationalisation of carbon market mechanisms under the Paris Agreement in light of African priorities, as well as practical developments in carbon markets in Africa.