Switzerland eyes fourth Article 6 partnership

Switzerland and Thailand today signed an initial agreement for a partnership under Article 6 of the Paris climate agreement.

Article 6 agreements are signed by parties with a view to generating internationally transferred mitigation outcomes that can be counted towards their nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the aims of the Paris deal.

Switzerland's NDC stipulates a 50pc cut in its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030, against 1990 levels. At the same time, the NDC provides for domestic policies to account for just a 37.5pc reduction. Projects in Thailand that are financed by Switzerland would count towards Switzerland's GHG reduction target, the Swiss ministry of environment, transport and energy said.

Switzerland has already signed two partnership agreements under Article 6, with Peru and Ghana, and an initial agreement for a third such deal with Senegal.

The agreement signed between Switzerland and Peru in October 2020 was the first to be signed worldwide.

No final agreement has been reached yet on the rules of Article 6. This is expected to happen at this year's UN climate summit, Cop 26, in Glasgow, Scotland, in November. As a result, the bilateral agreements are sufficiently flexible to allow them to evolve over time, Switzerland's office for the environment said.

By Chloe Jardine