Thread by @DrSimEvans

Next week, 10s of 1,000s of negotiators will descend on Madrid for the annual UN climate summit #COP25

They hope to agree rules for "Article 6", the technical & obscure text that could "make or break" the Paris Agreement.

What's it all about?

THREAD

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

"Article 6" of the Paris Agreement is about carbon trading & other forms of internatl. cooperation.

Some say it could significantly raise global climate ambition…

…others fear it could fatally undermine the Paris deal.

That's why it's "make or break"

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

For a brief moment at COP24 in Poland, Article 6 shot into the limelight, with Brazil accused of holding the entire talks hostage over the rules for how carbon markets should work.

In the end, they deferred the decisions on Article 6 until now.

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

First, just to say that our piece is 12,500 words & this Article 6 material is pretty dry.

But it's really really important, so please stick with me!

I promise lots of GIFs.

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

Second, I'd like to express our gratitude to all those that helped us understand Article 6 more clearly than when we started.

(Honestly, I think only a handful of people on the planet really, REALLY get it all – luckily we spoke to some of them.)

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

Article 6 itself only covers a single side of A4 and 9 paragraphs – see pic – but negotiators have been fighting over the details for years.

Check out the text in the image and you might get a sense of the problem. Mean anything to you? Me neither.

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

The text is a thicket of jargon, technical challenges & political fights over "constructive ambiguity".

Our Q&A is designed to help cut through all that noise.

So we annotated Article 6 with a marker pen & tried to explain what it actually means:

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

I did say jargon…

…so if you want to understand how to avoid "double-counting" your "ITMOs" using "corresponding adjustments", why "OMGE" & "share of proceeds" are important and debates over "inside/outside" or "Kyoto transition", then look no further:

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

At COP24, the Paris "rulebook" was agreed (its how-to manual, if you will).

But for Article 6, there were 100s of [square brackets] marking unresolved text.

Then, even more brackets were added in June, as countries pulled back from compromise positions.

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

To try to get to the bottom of the fights over Article 6, @Josh_Gabbatiss & I have spent several months speaking to a long list of experts & reading reams of documents, position papers & those draft negotiating texts.

It's been a steep learning curve!

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

After explaining the jargon, we tried to set out why Article 6 is so important & yet so contentious.

For eg chart shows what an Article 6.4 carbon market might involve, with US & Europe buying billions of CO2 credits from the likes of India & Pakistan.

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

Then we went through the current draft Article 6 negotiating texts – 41pp of dense legalese, for our sins – and tried to link that back to the key technical & political debates.

Want to find the controversial "Brazil option"?

We have you covered!

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

What happens next on Article 6 is this complex set of interlocking & overlapping national priorities – a “four-dimensional spaghetti” of red lines, if you will – have to be untangled at #COP25.

Or failing that, at #COP26 in Glasgow next year

carbonbrief.org/in-depth-q-and…

Finally, if you read and enjoy our Q&A on Article 6, then @Josh_Gabbatiss and I would absolutely love to hear about it. Or even if you don't like it.

It's been an absolute beast to work on and we very much hope that (for someone, anyone!) it is useful.

FIN