The Global Carbon Council (GCC) hosted a one-day coordination meeting between its three governing bodies on 2 September and a two-day regulatory meeting on 3-4 September 2024 in Qatar. The meetings, held at Alwadi Hotel Doha, brought together members of GCC’s Advisory Board, Regulatory Committee and Steering Committee to update on GCC achievements, action plan and discuss key challenges and trends in the global carbon market in order to establish GCC’s strategic direction for the coming years. The event served as a platform for members to exchange ideas, share best practices, and address emerging issues within the industry. Governing Body Participants, including leading experts in climate policy, carbon markets, GHG Methodologies, project validation and verification and sustainability, explored GCC’s role in shaping the future of the global carbon market.
Governance Body Meeting
Marking the first day, GCC’s Governance Body Meeting set the stage for a series of discussions and presentations. The event commenced with opening remarks from Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of GCC, followed by an agenda introduction by Kishor Rajhansa, COO. The day’s sessions included an overview of GCC milestones, achievements, new initiatives, challenges, and a look at the organization’s vision and strategic initiatives.
Participants joining the meeting engaged in a comprehensive review of GCC’s new regulatory reforms, including an update on GCC Program 2.0 and the transition process from GCC 1.0. The discussions covered GCC’s digitization strategy, featuring insights into GCC’s new projects’ portal, digital MRV, approach on Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement and planned carbon finance and auction facilities.
Senior members of GCC’s Operations team shared details on the Program’s new regulations and methodologies, including the recent methodologies on carbon capture and storage, and nature-based solutions. The sessions on the first day also focused on GCC’s role in Article 6 implementation, including work on national carbon registry for country-level engagements to operationalize Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.
The final session of the coordination meeting sought members’ views on exploring strategic initiatives for GCC in the dynamic carbon markets landscape. Discussions aimed to chart GCC’s strategy for navigating evolving market conditions, outline a vision for a robust carbon market, and position the GCC Program as a key player in Article 6.2 implementation. Experts also provided insights on addressing negative stakeholder sentiments and recommended focus areas for mitigation technologies and measures.
RDI Facility Tour
The first day of the event concluded with a tour of GCC headquarters and GORD’s RDI facility, “TechnoHub,” located in Qatar Science & Technology Park. Members of GCC’s governing bodies had the opportunity to witness firsthand the research and development of various low-carbon solutions and advanced technologies designed to support GHG reduction projects.
Regulatory Committee Meeting
GCC’s Governance Body Meeting was followed by a two-day Regulatory Committee Meeting where key stakeholders gathered to get regulatory updates on the GCC Program 2.0 and its associated standards. Sessions during the meeting covered critical topics including the revised program processes, project standards, environmental and social safeguards, and project sustainability. The discussions provided valuable insights into standards for compliance and strategic alignment with Article 6.2 and 6.4.
Members of the Regulatory Committee discussed critical standards and procedures, including standard on ICVCM eligibility of projects and issuances. GCC’s Operations team shared the revised/updated procedure for approval of GCC Verifiers as well as validation and verification standard to ensure that only high-quality carbon credits are provided under the GCC 2.0 Program.
GCC is advancing its methodologies to encompass a broad spectrum of sectors, enabling effective participation in carbon finance through mitigation projects, and to include International Carbon Verification and Certification Mechanism (ICVCM) and Article 6.4 requirements. To this end, the meeting provided direction on GCC’s standardization approach, as well as the procedures for creating, updating, and clarifying methodologies and related tools. The sessions also included discussions on the methodological tool for addressing uncertainty in GCC project activities and ways to align with the ICVCM additionality expectations.
The meeting concluded with thorough discussions, and recommendations of the Regulatory Committee that will shape the future direction of the GCC Program 2.0.
The meeting report and approved 2024-25 work program will follow.
