VCS Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+:
Advancements and Opportunities

2/10/2014

Naomi Swickard, AFOLU Manager

Overview

1)
2)

3)
4)

Introduction to VCS Program
Overview of Jurisdictional and Nested REDD+(JNR) Standard
Advancements and Opportunities
VCS and JCM

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1) VCS Program

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From REDD+ projects to programs

2) VCS Jurisdictional & Nested REDD+ Standard

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Developing the VCS JNR Standard•Advisory Committee including government representatives fromleading REDD+ jurisdictions established to guide two-year
process of standards development•

Technical Expert group of leading REDD+ experts drafted
technical recommendations and subsequently JNRRequirements•

JNR Requirements significantly revised based on peer review byadditional jurisdictions, experts and public consultation•Oct 2012: Release of final JNR Requirements•

Late 2013: JNR requirements updated to incorporate lessons
from early application (eg, Acre), and released new tools andtemplates•

Generously funded by the Climate & Land Use Alliance (CLUA)
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Jurisdictional & Nested REDD+ (JNR) Standard•••••First global standard for accounting for emission reductions
from national or subnational REDD+ programs (and nestedprojects)
Establishes environmental integrity, full leakage accounting,and ensures emission reductions „add up‟ across entire
jurisdiction
Aligns policies, programs and project activities
Scales up emission reduction potential, and provides
opportunity to harmonize and increase market and resultsbased public-funding streams
Ensures fungibility of credits across sectors, geographies andscales – majority of international REDD+ projects are alreadyusing VCS
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JNR Scenarios

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JNR docks into multiple sources of finance
Carbon Accounting Framework(including mechanisms for verification,crediting and ensuring permanence)

Jurisdictional &Nested REDD+(JNR) Standard
REDD+SES

Social & Environmental
Safeguards

Additional
Requirements(potential VCU tags)

Incentives(markets and resultsbased funding)+ potential local
requirements fordomestic market

Voluntary &Domestic
Markets

SESA &ESMF+ CA regulatory
requirements toconvert VCUs toCompliance Units+ benefit sharing
and own-effort byjurisdictions+ MF indicators on
resource tenure,benefit sharing,
non-carbon
benefitsCalifornia

REDD
EarlyMovers

FCPF
CarbonFund
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VCS Sustainable Landscapes Standard•

Opportunity for VCS to build on JNR (which is the only globalframework supporting landscape carbon accounting) to:•Expand beyond forest sector to agriculture, ranching and renewable biofuels•

Support comprehensive GHG accounting for emerging needs, including Initiative forSustainable Forest Landscapes / BioCF, sectoral NAMAs etc•

Increase efficiency and integrity of assessments by moving (from project/ farm) tolandscape scale (eg, producer regions covering single or multiple globalcommodities)•

Diversify beyond carbon/climate finance to support jurisdictions in advancing low
emissions development strategies (LEDS) with new funding for: sustainable supply
chains (corporate and govt commodity buyers); food security and green
development (donors); and large-scale investment risk mitigation (financialinstitutions and development banks)

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3) VCS JNR Advancements
1)
2)

JNR Implementation
New Tools and Templates

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JNR Implementation•Funding from Norad/NICFI (Norway) and GIZ (Germany) topilot in Acre and Amazonas, Brazil; Costa Rica (national);
DRC (subnational); Peru (subnational)•

Additional pilots in Chile (subnational), Guatemala(subnational) and Laos (subnational)•

Other governments interested in applying JNR: Ecuador,Ghana, Madagascar, Mato Grosso (Brazil)•

Early stage discussions with Indonesia, Vietnam, Mexico,
Colombia, Ethiopia…

•Expect registration of baseline and REDD+ program, and inmany cases, verification and issuance of credits
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Pilot: Acre, Brazil

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Pilot: Acre, Brazil•

Acre poised to become first jurisdiction-wide program to delivercompliance-grade REDD+ credits•KfW agreed to performance-based payments totaling ~$25 million
USD through REDD Early Movers, with Acre using JNR Frameworkfor carbon accounting•

Acre has an MOU with the State of California to provide a pathway
for its early participation in California‟s cap-and-trade system••

VCSA signed agreements with Acre‟s Institute of Climate Changeand Regulation of Environmental Services (IMC) and the Amazon
Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) to outline and provide
support to JNR pilot activities
Acre‟s jurisdictional program is currently undergoing pre-validation
under JNR Scenario 2, and seeking to issue VCUs in 2014

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Pilot: Chile

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Chile „Typologies‟

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Chile REDD+ Strategy

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Pilot: Chile•••••

Chile developing two subnational JNR pilot programs to protect its
subtropical forests against wide-scale degradation and incentivize
A/R.
VCSA has an MOU with Chile‟s National Forest Corporation(CONAF), to support Chile with the implementation of its Platform
for the Generation and Commercialization of Carbon Credits fromthe Chilean Forestry Sector (PBCCh).
Under PBCCh, Chile is developing 15 forest typologies and aims toharmonize Forest Management Plans for each typology with VCS
rules and requirements.
Currently advancing with developing “Jurisdictional Program
Descriptions” (JPDs) for two subnational jurisdictions underScenario 2.

Expected demand: Donors, emerging domestic voluntary market,
international voluntary market
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Pilot: ChileJNR programs will account for jurisdiction-wide
emission reductions/removals, and ensure
nested activities „add up‟ across scales (project,subnational, national)• Nested project activities may be „grouped‟ toensure efficient and consistent application• CCBA/CARE REDD+ SES being explored todemonstrate safeguards and multiple benefits• Expected demand: Donors, emerging domestic
voluntary market, international voluntary market•

10 February 2014

New Tools and Templates•

Published this week••

JNR Leakage Tool

Published in late 2013JNR Non-Permanence Risk Tool
• Updates to JNR Requirements (lessons learned)• JNR Validation and Verification Process• JNR Registration and Issuance Process• JNR Program Description (JPD)/ JNR Baseline
Description (JBD)• Additional templates and forms•2/10/2014

JNR Leakage Tool•

Tool for estimating jurisdictional leakage (jurisdictions can also
develop their own approaches)•Applicability• Subnational jurisdictional programs• Used to estimate leakage from deforestation and degradation
activities•

Framework• Identify the principle agents and drivers of deforestation/degradation• Identify potential for jurisdictional leakage and leakage mitigation
strategies• Analyze leakage categories (Global commodities, domestic
market and subsistence, deforestation to degradation)• Determine jurisdictional leakage deduction
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JNR Non-Permanence Risk Tool•

Tool to estimate non-permanence risk to determine the bufferwithholding•

Applicability• All jurisdictional programsStructure• Evaluate risk based on various risk categories which include:
political and governance, program design and strategy, carbon
rights and use of carbon revenue, financing risk and natural risk
• Risk calculation can be reduced where risk mitigation strategies
are implemented• Risk calculations for each category are summed to determine thefinal percentage of emission reductions/removals to be depositedin the jurisdictional pooled buffer account•

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3) VCS and JCM
1)
2)

Project-level Opportunities
Jurisdictional Opportunities

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Tagging Verified Carbon Units (VCUs)
Core Elements

Additional Certifications

JCM?

(Thailand)Accessing multiple sources of project finance
Carbon Accounting Framework(including mechanisms for verification,crediting and ensuring permanence)

CCB
Standards

Social & Environmental
Safeguards

Additional
Requirements(potential VCU tags)

Incentives(markets and resultsbased funding)

VCS AFOLU
Standard+ potential otherstandards/requirements (eg,IFC, FSC)

+ potential local
requirements fordomestic market+ Compliance market
requirements, eg,
nested in ajurisdictional program

VoluntaryMarkets

Domestic Markets(Chile, Costa
Rica, Colombia,Japan?…)PotentialComplianceMarkets
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JNR docks into multiple sources of finance
Carbon Accounting Framework(including mechanisms for verification,crediting and ensuring permanence)

Jurisdictional &Nested REDD+(JNR) Standard
REDD+SES

Social & Environmental
Safeguards

Additional
Requirements(potential VCU tags)

Incentives(markets and resultsbased funding)+ potential localrequirements fordomestic market

Voluntary &Domestic
Markets

SESA &ESMF+ CA regulatory
requirements toconvert VCUs toCompliance Units+ benefit sharing
and own-effort byjurisdictions+ MF indicators on
resource tenure,benefit sharing,
non-carbon
benefits

California

REDD
Early
Movers

FCPF
CarbonFund
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How to leverage existing standards•Option 1: Allow countries to use third-party
programs/ standards to meet the JCM
requirements:
 If meeting AFOLU/JNR requirements satisfies JCM

requirements  no issue
 If JCM requirements are stricter than AFOLU/JNR
requirements  use „tagging‟ to ensure both sets ofrequirements are met (and verified) If JCM and AFOLU/JNR requirements are different
 VCS to seek solutions with JCM

How to leverage existing standards•

Option 2: Provide JCM-specific standards„consistent with‟ VCS:
 Potential issues where requirements are different (eg,Tier 1 vs Tier 2, 3)
 Where not all credits from a project or program will bepurchased under JCM, potential inefficiencies for
projects/programs to meet more than one standard
Potential for double counting or other accounting issues• Lack of clarity on permanence and buffer commitments andliabilities• May limit Japan‟s supply and potential to source credits• Limits flexibility for projects and programs•

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More Information…
JNR webpage• JNR fact sheet• JNR Requirements• JNR Leakage Tool
• JNR Non-Permanence Risk Tool•

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Thank you!
Naomi Swickard
AFOLU Manager

nswickard@v-c-s.org

VCS Association
1730 Rhode Island Avenue, NW
Suite 803
Washington, DC 20036
www.v-c-s.org