Relevance of Gold Standard in current scenario Carbon Bazaar 2010 New Delhi, 11 May 2010 Neha Rao Regional Manager- India and South Asia The Gold Standard Foundation

What is the Gold Standard? AfterBefore

13/06/2014 The Spirit of Kyoto is The Gold Standard The purpose of the CDM shall be to assist Parties not included in Annex I in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the Convention, and to assist Parties included in Annex I in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments Kyoto protocol, Article 12.2

Gold Standard in a Nutshell Who we are: a non-profit organization under Swiss law that operates a certification scheme for premium quality carbon credits Endorsed by 65 NGOs worldwide How we got started: The Gold Standard quality benchmark emerged and has evolved in parallel with the emergence and maturation of carbon offset markets. It was developed by a group of NGOs led by WWF, SSN and HELIO International and launched in 2003.

Gold Standard in a Nutshell – contd What we stand for: promoting sustainable development through carbon offset markets that are characterized by transparency and equality of access for all market participants What we do: GS registers projects that reduce GHG emissions in ways that contribute to sustainable development and certifies their carbon credits for sale on both compliance and voluntary offset markets.

Gold Standard Supporters Give the brand its value 65 NGOs Points of Contacts India, China, South Africa and Brazil (REEEP Funding) Gold Standard Buyers Voluntary Commitment to use majority GS Assist with marketing and events Gold Standard Secretariat HQ (11), Regional Managers (7) Daily Management of GS Activities Project & Meth Reviews Capacity Building Registry Management Marketing & Fund Raising Foundation Board Budget Oversight Ultimate Control Over GS Brand Technical Advisory Committee GS Structure & Governance Project & Meth Reviews Rule changes 9 experts of the carbon market 8 members GS NGOs Roster of External Experts Project & Meth Reviews (to be expanded shortly) APX Registry Development Invoicing GS TAC RE Auditors External Validation DOEs

GS Supporter NGOs worldwide Plus 5 International NGOs (WWF Int., Greenpeace Int., Mercy Corps, REEEP, Helio International)

Pipeline Overview – Project Activities Source: GS Registry, 18 March 2010 Number of projects

Pipeline Overview – Volumes Source: GS Registry, 18 March 2010 tCO2e/year

Pipeline Overview – Type of Activities Source: GS Registry, 18 March 2010 Number of projects

13/06/2014 Why the Gold Standard?

13/06/2014 Growing criticism of the Carbon Market Compliance market: Lack of focus on sustainable development Lack of local stakeholder consultation Lack of participatory approaches (local ownership) Voluntary market: Poor quality offsets, lack of additionality Lack of transparency, double counting The jungle - confusion between various standards with different scopes & priorities

Relevance of GS in the Compliance Market Promotes medium term shift towards sustainable energy consumption & sustainable energy supply Enhances local stakeholder involvement Promotes best practice for project development, validation, and verification with respect to sustainable development Beyond carbon reduction - monitor and capture co-benefits all along the project lifetime

Relevance of GS in the Voluntary Market Promotes transparency & enhance credibility Premium quality benchmark Enables innovation: Provision of Methodology Submission – Biogas Digesters – Energy efficiency cooking stoves – Switch to biomass fuels – Methodology for large-scale supply and distribution of efficient light bulbs and showerhead products to household – Bio-diesel from waste oil/fat (Revised version of AM0047)

Relevance of GS in the Voluntary Market Enables innovation: Provision of Methodology Submission – The following methodologies are under development Thermal energy from plant oil for the user of cooking stoves Revised AMS I.C Bio-ethanol diesel blends for stationary or mobile sources Methodology review –500 USD + Costs of two external experts (separate confirmation will be asked if more than 5000 USD) Methodology review –500 USD + Costs of two external experts (separate confirmation will be asked if more than 5000 USD)

Community-focused Micro Scale Scheme: Voluntary Projects Objective is to allow for streamlined procedures and lowered transaction costs for poor community-focused micro scale project activities Eligible countries: – Least Developing Countries (LDCs) – Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) – Small Island Developing States (SIDSs) – Projects from other countries will be approved on a case-by-case basis, if the project participants are able to demonstrate that the project will essentially benefit poor communities.

Community-focused Micro Scale Scheme: Voluntary Projects Eligible project activities – Gold Standard voluntary projects are micro-scale if they generate less than 5000 tCO2 in any year of the crediting period. – Renewable energy and end-use energy efficiency – Project activities that generate electricity shall either qualify as on-site generation OR shall feed into an existing or new, local, low voltage isolated grid. – Project activities feeding electricity into national/regional high voltage grid if it can be demonstrated that the project will improve electricity access for poor local communities

Community-focused Micro Scale Scheme: Voluntary Projects Additionality – Eligible project activities are deemed additional without any further requirement to demonstrate additionality Baseline and monitoring – As per CDM or GS approved methodology – Submission of new simplified conservative approaches are encouraged Sustainable development assessment – Project appraisal by independent Objective Observers (appointed by GS, suggested by project participants)

Community-focused Micro Scale Scheme: Voluntary Projects Validation/Verification shall be conducted in one of the following ways: – External Validation/Verification: The contracting of a DOE, as is the case for any other project activity – Internal Validation/Verification: Opting for a Gold Standard Internal Validation/verification: Requires paying a fee to the Gold Standard Validation/verification Fund. Validation Fund: Flat fee of 10,000 USD Verification Fund: Flat fee of 2,500 USD per annum

Gold Standard Validation/Verification Fund Notification to the Gold Standard Upload the required documents on the Gold Standard Registry Notification by Gold Standard on whether the project will be validation/verified by a DOE or internally by the Gold Standard Technical Advisory Committee Costs in both cases are covered by the fund The decision is made through target random selection of micro-scale projects opting for the validation/verification fund If requested to validate/verified the project through a DOE, selection of a DOE based on several competitive offers.

Gold Standard: The preferred standard 13/06/2014

In Summary… Enhances reputation Ensure premium prices Improves market visibility Contributes to sustainable development Increases stakeholder acceptance

Thank You Neha Rao Regional Manager- India and South Asia The Gold Standard- Premium quality carbon credits