Two-day coordination meeting between three governance bodies of the Global Carbon Council concluded on 21st June 2023. Members of the Advisory Board, Regulatory and Steering Committees engaged in thought-provoking discussions with the GCC management and operations teams on key topics driving the global carbon market, and the role that GCC can play in shaping it. The meeting report is available here
Taking place in Doha, Qatar, where GCC headquarters are located, the two-day workshop was the first gathering of all newly elected members of GCC’s Advisory Board, Steering Committee and Regulatory Committee, which consist of leading experts in climate policymaking, carbon markets and sustainability sector working with key international governance bodies, non-profit entities, academia, public and private sector organizations, and the GCC operations and management teams.
Discussions were held in a form of interactive workshop sessions, which provided an occasion for the exchange of views on key issues shaping the global carbon market, and GCC’s forthcoming activities and priorities. GCC leaders presented the program’s innovations across methodologies and carbon registries, and dove into the most pressing aspects of carbon markets’ functioning, including the evolution of regulatory requirements, enhancing the role of verifiers in the assessment of projects, and matters related to project evaluation and carbon credit issuance processes.
The role of carbon markets in contributing to governments’ activities to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement was also widely covered during discussions, with GCC utilizing the opportunity to share an update on its plans to enhance services to governments.
The discussions also covered the proposed work program of GCC for 2023-2024 on key strategic, technical and outreach initiatives, being planned to step up the role and contribution of GCC in voluntary and compliance carbon markets.
Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of GCC, commented: “We are delighted to host our esteemed newly elected members of Advisory Board, Regulatory and Steering Committees for this important gathering. Governance bodies of the GCC play an invaluable role in shaping GCC’s strategy, ensuring the quality of methodologies and thoroughness of project assessments, and we are thankful for valuable contributions made by the attending members during discussions and workshops.”
Global Carbon Council’s Chief Operating Officer Kishor Rajhansa said: “It has been a pleasure to host distinguished members of our independent Advisory Board, Regulatory and Steering Committees. These intensive workshops allowed us to get the perspective of our board and committee members on GCC’s key activities and align on the directions to take in the months and years to come.”
Ovais Sarmad, GCC Advisory Board member and former Deputy Executive Secretary at UNFCCC, said: “Carbon markets play an extremely important role in a variety of ways, because many countries need to focus on their development strategies, the NDCs that they have submitted and how to make it happen.” Speaking about the role of GCC, Mr. Sarmad added that the work of Global Carbon Council and the expertise of its leadership will be instrumental in operationalizing the implementation of the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
GCC’s Advisory Board provides overall strategic direction, while Steering and Regulatory Committees are the program’s governance bodies that play a key role in ensuring independent decision-making including project registration, carbon credits issuance and approval of GCC regulatory documents including baseline and monitoring methodologies. Through the expertise of its governance bodies, alongside extensive knowledge of carbon market best practice amongst the GCC team, the program is working to develop robust standards and methodologies that further enhance the credibility and integrity of carbon credits.