Georgia’s prospects in the Global Carbon Market were the focus of a high-level conference in Tbilisi on Tuesday. The participants discussed carbon trade impacts on reducing emissions and achieving green development, steps needed to access the market, and the engagement of the public and private sectors.
The event brought together over 50 representatives of the government, financial institutions, industry associations, businesses, civil society and international agencies. Key speakers included Solomon Pavliashvili, Georgia’s Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture; H.E. Akira Imamura, Ambassador of Japan to Georgia; Urs Beer, Deputy Head of Mission of the Embassy of Switzerland to Georgia; and Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia.
“Georgia’s ambitious goals to develop a low-emission economy and promote climate-smart technologies are reinforced by our climate commitments under the Paris Agreement, the Association Agreement with the European Union, and other international treaties,” said Solomon Pavliashvili, Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture. “Access to carbon markets will help Georgia implement its climate agenda and move forward to building a climate-resilient society.”
“Swapping carbon credits is a win-win idea that limits carbon emissions and brings much-needed financing to countries like Georgia to help in their green transition,” noted Nick Beresford, UNDP Resident Representative in Georgia. “I am grateful to Switzerland and Japan for being the pioneers in Georgia under the Ministry of Environment’s leadership. We now need to put this great idea into action.”
Georgia’s ambitious climate pledge under the Paris Agreement (35% reduction in GHG emissions compared to the 1990 baseline by 2030) makes the country a good candidate for entering the Carbon Trade Market.
Switzerland and Japan are Georgia’s key supporters, and, potentially, the first trading partners, in this effort. In cooperation with UNDP, the Government of Switzerland and the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs/SECO assessed Georgia’s carbon trade readiness, identified legislative and other gaps, and agreed on a technical assistance package.
Earlier in 2021 and 2022, Georgia signed bilateral agreements with Switzerland and Japan that will allow carbon trading once Georgia is ready to activate this mechanism. The carbon trade revenues will provide Georgia with additional funding for sustainable and climate-smart development.
Carbon Trade Markets
Carbon markets are international cooperation mechanisms that allow selling, buying or transferring emission reductions and removals between countries or commercial entities. The Paris Agreement enables the use of such mechanisms through Article 6.
For the country or a private company to access the carbon market, its emission reductions and removals must be real and aligned with the Nationally Determined Contributions/NDCs to the Paris Agreement. There must be transparency in the institutional and financial infrastructure for carbon market transactions, as well as social and environmental safeguards to mitigate any adverse project impacts.
For more information about carbon trade markets, visit UNDP’s Climate Promise website.
