Michael A. Mehling

46(3) Ecology Law Quarterly (2020): 765-828

https://doi.org/10.15779/Z389G5GD97

As the international community prepares to establish the detailed infrastructure required for the operationalization of voluntary cooperation under the Paris Agreement, this Article contributes an analysis of options for key elements of the governance framework for cooperative approaches under Article 6. It identifies practical questions and challenges arising from the design of cooperative approaches and discusses open questions on their governance. In line with that focus, it is interested not only in legal mandates, but also in practical considerations, drawing on insights from international cooperation in related issue areas and from experience with market mechanisms under previous climate regimes. It develops guiding considerations for governance design, highlights alternative institutional models, and distills their relative strengths and shortcomings in light of the objectives and principles underpinning Article 6.

Keywords: Paris Agreement; Article 6; cooperative approaches; carbon markets; international governance; accounting and transparency