Request for proposals for PAR6C Program - Analysis of Voluntary Carbon Markets in Colombia. Date documents can be requested until: 30 May 2025 15:00 Global Green Growth Institute for its projects in Colombia is inviting only Colombian registered companies to submit their bids for the tender SPAR6C Program Analysis of voluntary carbon markets in Colombia ELIGIBILITY: Service providers (in case of consortium, at least the lead entity) must be a legal entity incorporated and registered in Colombia and/or able to receive payment in Colombia. The entity should not be directly involved in voluntary carbon markets in Colombia, to rule put any possible conflict of interest (In this regard, please fill out and sign Annex 2 Declaration of non-involvement in Colombian voluntary carbon markets0 NOTE TO FINANCIAL PROPOSAL: The budget should include: Staff: the team is expected to consist of between 3 and 5 expert staff members. The expected skillset of the team is outlined in Section 5 of this document. Access to at least one of the data providers (MSCI, Allied Offset). This should include access for the firm or servicer provider and one more user to be shared between GGGI and DNP. The budget should not include: The costs of organising any workshop (e.g. renting a space), as these will be covered by GGGI Payment of VAT, as the project has the Certificate of Common Utility of the Government of Colombia under the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC-Colombia), which provides tax exemptions to the project and the consultants or consulting firms that are participating in the implementation of the project. PROJECT BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Context of the Program The Paris Agreement provides a comprehensive framework for signatory Parties to reach an ambitious commitment to limit the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C, and to pursue efforts to limit the increase to 1.5°C in a cooperative manner. This framework covers several instruments including cooperative approaches under Article 6 which allows for the potential development of international carbon transactions. The Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation (SPAR6C) Program, funded by the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Government, is a five-year, 20M EUR Program, whose implementation began in Q2 2022. Its objective is to use Article 6 (A6) cooperative approaches to engage the private sector in NDC implementation and to raise ambition. This will enable cost-efficient, flexible, high-integrity carbon markets with positive sustainability impacts. SPAR6C is supporting Colombia in developing it is institutional, regulatory, and technical framework and capacities to embark on Article 6 transactions of ITMOs during the NDC implementation period 2020-2030. The programs first stage has been the development of a Readiness and Needs Assessment (RNA) for implementing Article 6, which examines the countrys capacities and systems to consolidate a strategy, and guiding principles, institutional and procedural framework, and monitoring tools related to Article 6. Article 6 promises to generate significant amounts of carbon finance to host countries. Therefore, it is important to examine how much finance has been flowing through the voluntary carbon market as a precedent. In Colombia, in particular, the voluntary carbon market (VCM) has flourished because of the carbon tax offset mechanism, which allows companies with carbon tax obligations, primarily transportation and fossil fuel companies, to offset their tax obligations by cancelling carbon credits of VCM projects in Colombia. The market has grown substantially since the mechanism started in 2017. Nowadays, as well, Colombian projects, standards, developers and verifiers are reaching the international market. The Colombian VCM is one of the largest in the world by volume of credits sold and retired, counting with 200 active projects in this market as of the first half of 2024 according to main reporting sources (Verra, GoldStandard, Berkeley, Alianza Pacífico, International Database on REDD+ projects and Programmes, Ecoregistry, among others). Of these, 171 are registered on the National Registry for the Reduction of Greenhouse Gas Emissions (RENARE for its initials in Spanish) as of September 30, 2024. The MRV of projects is mandatory (Resolution 1447 of 2018 of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development) for all mitigation initiatives in the country, including carbon market mechanisms. Regarding voluntary market stakeholders, based on the RNA report prepared by GGGI (2023), 10 associated validation and verification organizations (VBOs) were found; more than 30 project development entities; and at least 10 carbon standards or GHG certification programs, both nationally and internationally, participated in these markets. It is worth mentioning that these voluntary carbon markets at the national level were strongly encouraged by the non- causation mechanism of the carbon tax. The National Planning Department (DNP) is in charge of the Monitoring, Reporting and Verification (MRV) of climate finance in Colombia (Financiamiento climático general en cifras (dnp.gov.co)), a key task for the assessment of compliance with Article 2 c) of the Paris Agreement Making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development. The DNP has made significant advances in tracking international cooperation finances, as well as public investment, with climate markers for investment budgets. Their online platform tracks public-sector mitigation and adaptation investment by year, region and sector. However, the DNP is still lagging behind in the measurement and tracking of private climate investment and finances, as there are looser MRV requirements for private-sector action in voluntary markets. Therefore, DNP have indicated that they would like SPAR6C to support the tracking of voluntary carbon market finances in Colombia to estimate the size of the market, the financial flows involved, its trends and its potential. Other analysis in this context include Asocarbonos regular update of VCM projects and carbon tax. Allied Offsets, MSCI and Standard & Poors databases provide raw data as well as limited public reports and some paid-for subscription services with important data to achieve goals of this consultant to build financial flow of type project. Yet, there still is a need for aggregate data at the country level and a granular, comprehensive picture of private-sector investment in VCM. Allied Offset and MSCI are largest database for the voluntary carbon market that can be consulted from different aggregation level and variables of VCM as number and typology of projects, projects by country, prices, quality, buyers, transactions, brokers, transactions, retirements and more, that can contribute in the development of consultancy to build financial flows and features of VCM in Colombia. Tender Link : https://in-tendhost.co.uk/gggi/aspx/Tenders/Current
