Since its adoption in December 2015 by
the 21st Conference of Parties (COP21), within the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 175
countries to date have ratified the Paris Agreement. These
countries have made commitments Nationally Determined
Contributions (NDCs), in some cases contingent on financing
by developed countries, to limit or reduce their Greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions through a variety of measures including
more significant deployment of renewable power, energy
efficiency, land-use controls such as conservation of
forests and grasslands, carbon pricing, and other measures
compatible with each country’s national circumstances and
capabilities. Even with full ratification of the Agreement
by all 197 signatories, the aggregate effect is projected
only to slow the rate of GHG emissions growth from the 24
percent increase, between 1990 and 2010, to an anticipated
increase between 2010 and 2030 of between 11 and 23 percent.
To foster higher ambition and sustainable development, and
also encourage large-scale financing towards the most
effective mitigation measures, Article 6 of the Agreement
recognizes that countries may engage in cooperative
approaches, including the use of internationally transferred
mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) towards their individual NDC. In
this new, complex and diverse environment, this paper aims
to examine emerging digital technologies and architectures
that could be used to enhance and connect the heterogeneous
climate actions across countries, thereby supporting
post-2020 climate markets that facilitate the most
cost-effective achievement of the highest possible ambition.
Given the speed with which information technology, system
architectures, domestic policy, and other relevant elements
are developing, the roadmap laid out in this paper will
likely continue to evolve significantly over the next few years.