Request for Proposal For Development Of An Operational Framework For Carbon Markets

Request for proposals for Development of an Operational Framework for Carbon Markets in Uganda Uganda intends to use carbon markets, including Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, to mobilize finance for implementing its Nationally Determined Contribution. The National Climate Change Regulations 2025 establish the regulatory basis for participation, but the practical systems and decision tools needed to operationalize carbon market transactions are not yet in place. The Government therefore requires specialist technical support to establish three interdependent components of a carbon markets operational framework: a National Carbon Registry to record and track mitigation activities and transactions; clear authorization criteria and procedures for assessing and approving mitigation outcomes; and a carbon budget to guide the volume and allocation of outcomes available for domestic use or international transfer. Without these components, Uganda cannot efficiently manage end-to-end carbon market processes, maintain transparent records, make consistent authorization decisions, safeguard achievement of its NDC, or provide sufficient certainty to project developers, investors, and international partners. GGGI, with support from the European Union, is therefore seeking the services of a firm to design, develop, test, and support the operationalization of this framework in collaboration with the Ministry of Water and Environment and other relevant government stakeholders. PROPOSED ACTIVITIES: GGGI seeks to engage a competent consulting firm (hereinafter referred to as the Consultant) to develop an operational framework for carbon markets in Uganda and support its initial operationalization. Working closely with the Ministry of Water and Environment and other relevant stakeholders, the Consultant will assess institutional, functional, technical, legal, and interoperability requirements; design, develop, test, and deploy a National Carbon Registry; develop transparent authorization criteria, procedures, decision tools, and templates for mitigation activities and outcomes; and establish a national carbon budget methodology and recommendations aligned with Ugandas Nationally Determined Contribution and applicable Article 6 requirements. The Consultant will also pilot and validate the proposed systems and tools, strengthen safeguards for environmental integrity and transparent accounting, and deliver the training, technical documentation, and knowledge transfer required for sustainable government ownership and operation of the framework. SCOPE OF WORK: Under the scope of this project the selected consulting firm (hereinafter referred as Consultant) shall complete the following key activities: 1.Design and support the operationalization of a National Carbon registry Context: Decision 2/CMA.3 states that parties participating in Article 6.2 implementation, shall maintain or access registries to track ITMO transactions, including authorization, transfers, use, and cancellations, with the Secretariat providing an international registry for Parties lacking their own. The UNFCCC will also implement an Article 6 database and the CARP to record, check, and publish non-confidential information on cooperative approaches and ITMOs, with annual reports provided to the CMA, summarizing activities, ITMOs, and emission balances. Relatedly, Decision 4/CMA.6 provides additional guidance on tracking infrastructure and registries for ITMOs, including interoperability between the UNFCCC international registry and national registries providing a dual-layer registry system for Article 6.2. This connection between Article 6.4 mechanism registry and host Party registry with the Article 6.2 international registry shall enable: Pulling and viewing data and information on holdings and action history of authorized A6.4ERs, enable the transfer of the authorized Article 6.4 Emission Reductions (A6.4ERs) as ITMOs and support accounting and reporting. Considering that Uganda has clearly indicated its intention to participate in Article 6, has a solid pipeline of VCM activities and is actively seeking bilateral cooperation with a number of buyer countries, the need for a domestic carbon registry cannot be more pertinent. Furthermore, Uganda has been actively participating in non-market approaches and intends to adapt the National registry to facilitate the implementation of NMAs. Therefore, the selected consulting firm (hereinafter referred as Consultant) shall be required to lead the development of a National Carbon registry for Uganda in line with the Uganda Climate Change mechanisms regulations 2025. Under this task, the consultant will undertake the following activities: a) Stakeholder engagement and registry needs assessment: Conduct atleast 2 consultations with MWE, CCD and relevant stakeholders as identified by Government to define the objectives, governance arrangements, and functional requirements of the National Carbon Registry in Ugandas context. This process will ensure the system reflects national climate policy priorities, there is strong focus on coordination of robust data collection and facilitates meaningful participation in international carbon markets and non-market approaches. b) Technical design of the registry: Develop the functional framework and technical architecture for the registry, including modules for project registration, issuance, authorization, transfer, cancellation, and reporting of ITMOs and other verified emission reduction units. The design should ensure robust data management, and should be in line with the authorization criteria, as well as existing infrastructure for management of climate data. c) Alignment with international carbon market requirements: Analyse and integrate registry requirements arising from Article 6 decisions adopted under the UNFCCC, particularly those under CMA 3 Article 6 decisions, CMA 4 Article 6 infrastructure decisions, CMA 5 Article 6 reporting and registry decisions. This will ensure the registry can track and manage Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes in line with international transparency and accounting requirements. d) Integration with UNFCCC reporting and transparency processes: The registry will be designed to support national climate reporting obligations, including its linkage to the Centralized Accounting and Reporting Platform, should have management and tracking requirements to facilitate reporting under the BUR and BTR. The system should also facilitate data flows required for the Common Reporting Tables and corresponding adjustment tracking where mitigation outcomes are transferred internationally. e) Assessment of existing national systems: Review existing government digital systems and databases to determine opportunities for integration or interoperability with the National Carbon Registry. The assessment will identify technical gaps and recommend solutions for efficient system integration. f) Prototype development and system testing: Design and develop a prototype of the National Carbon Registry to demonstrate key functionalities and workflows. The prototype will be tested with government stakeholders to validate operational features and ensure alignment with national and international requirements, and pathways for linkage to private registries. g) Development and operationalization of the registry platform: Build and deploy the full operational registry platform, integrating all required modules and databases while establishing security protocols and operational procedures. The platform should support the end-to-end lifecycle of mitigation outcomes from issuance to transfer, cancellation, or retirement. h) Capacity building and knowledge transfer: Provide training and technical guidance documents to MWE, CCD officials responsible for managing the registry. This will include operational training, system administration guidance, and knowledge transfer to ensure long-term sustainability and independent management of the registry. 2. Development of an Authorization Criteria Context: According to Decision 7/CMA.4, Parties are required to establish domestic arrangements for authorizing the use of Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes toward the achievement of their Nationally Determined Contribution or for Other International Mitigation Purposes. Under this guidance adopted within the framework of the UNFCCC, Parties may record and track such authorizations within the carbon registry they operate and communicate the relevant information as part of their reporting obligations under the Enhanced Transparency Framework. In line with this guidance and Ugandas national circumstances, the country has established a procedure for authorization under its carbon market regulatory framework to guide project proponents seeking approval to participate in carbon market activities. However, some of the operational aspects of the authorization process remain to be further operationalized. These include the detailed criteria to be applied by the Designated National Authority (DNA) when assessing authorization requests, the definition and timing of first transfer in the Ugandan context, the stages of the authorization process, the applicable use cases for authorized mitigation outcomes, and how these align with priority mitigation activities specified in the NDC. Against this backdrop, this task will focus on developing an Authorization criterion. To accomplish this task, the consultant is expected to undertake the following activities: a) Review of international and national policy frameworks: Conduct a comprehensive review of the Climate Change Mechanisms regulations 2025, UNFCCC Article 6 guidance and relevant decisions, to identify requirements for authorizing Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes for use toward NDCs or OIMP. Bench-making reports from previous missions to peer countries will also be review Tender Link : https://in-tendhost.co.uk/gggi/aspx/Tenders/Current