By Chris Lang
Papua New Guinea is in the process of developing a Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022. On 21 October 2022, the Papua New Guinea Environmental Alliance wrote to the Climate Change and Development Authority asking the CCDA to “slow down the development process” of the Regulation.
The PNGEA also asked the CCDA to “defer the National Validation Workshop for the Regulation to an agreed time”, when the issues that the PNGEA raises in its letter have been addressed.
The CCDA went ahead with its National Validation Workshop as planned on 25 October 2022. The PNGEA membership boycotted the Workshop.
The letter is one of a series of recent letters from PNGEA expressing their concern about the way the PNG government’s regulation of REDD is developing:
The proposed Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022 covers the rights to the carbon stored in Papua New Guinea’s forests. Section 14 of the draft Regulation proposes a “national aproach”. This is in contradiction with PNG’s constitution, which makes clear that forest and timber rights belong to the traditional owners. The proposed Regulation would therefore separate carbon rights from the people and forests of PNG – in breach of the constitutional rights of the country’s traditional landowners.
Below is the Papua New Guinea Environmental Alliance’s letter, as it appeared on 26 October 2022 in the Post Courier newspaper.
Mr. William Lakain – Acting Managing Director
Climate Change and Development Authority
9th Floor Dynasty Tower
Savannah Heights, Waigani Drive
Port Moresby, NCDDate: 21st October 2022
Dear Mr. Lakain,
RE: OPEN LETTER ON CLIMATE CHANGE (MANAGEMENT) (CARBON MARKET) REGULATION 2022 DEVELOPMENT AND FINALISATION PROCESS
We, the members of the PNG Environmental Alliance (PNGEA), write this urgent open letter to you to voice our concerns on the steps currently being taken in the development of regulations under the Climate Change Management Act (CCMA 2021 amended), including the draft Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022. We commend the CCDA for the inclusive, participatory approach it has been following in the development of these regulations, but believe the process can be further improved by addressing the issues we outline below.
The main issues with the current development process are:
- The definition of carbon rights is given in both the draft Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022, and the CCMA Amendments Act 2021. However, there are inconsistencies on the definitions provided for both. The ownership of carbon and its derivate rights are an absolutely crucial aspect for the implementation of all REDD+ and other carbon credit activities in the country and should also be further and specifically defined within an Act of Parliament, and cannot be inconsistent with either the Constitution and an Underlying Law – i.e., Customary Law.
- There has been insufficient time allocated for adequate presentation, explanation and discussion of the draft Regulation, and preparation and submission of written comments by all stakeholders.
- Although there is reference to the Voluntary Carbon Market in the CCMA (2021 amended), there is no detail on the specific systems and processes that govern this. The draft Regulation also does not thoroughly outline how it will be managed and regulated by the governing authority, as well as how it differs from the compliance markets – e.g., REDD+ and other proposed options.
- None of the REDD+ Safeguard Guidelines have been referred to adequately in the CCMA (2021 amended).
- There is no adequate reference in the draft Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022 to the REDD+ Safeguard Guidelines or other to be developed carbon credit market activities guidelines, and the need for compliance with these vital requirements for the development and management of a carbon market in PNG.
- The draft Regulation covers all forms of mitigation activities generating carbon credits, e.g., through forest protection (REDD+), afforestation/reforestation, clean energy, protection of the marine environment, etc. Safeguard Guidelines have only been developed for REDD+ activities, when they should be developed for all activities that generate carbon credits.
Below, we elaborate on and propose specific solutions to the issues highlighted above:
The definition of carbon rights must be agreed upon through an open discussion with all stakeholders, with particular attention to its implications for customary landowning communities. The current inconsistent definitions of carbon rights provided in the CCMA Amendment Act and the draft Regulation are also inadequate when considering REDD+ activities and the use of forest carbon. As it currently stands, it is unclear what the consequences of this definition will be for ownership of all different pools of forest carbon. This needs to be taken into consideration and will require further stakeholder review and agreements before we can accept and use one clear definition within our overarching climate legislation.
The regional stakeholder consultation process for the draft Regulation has been limited to presentation meetings of half a day, with one and half hours for questions and answers/discussions scheduled, which in the case of the Islands Region meeting was in practice even limited to less than one hour. Participants at the Highlands Region meeting stressed that as there are many important aspects of carbon trade that need to be thoroughly understood, discussed and addressed, much more time is needed for stakeholder discussions and comments processing. During these presentation meetings, the overall timeframe for the regulation development was not given, and also the deadline for submission of written comments was not specified. We believe that the overall consultation process has not given sufficient time for thorough discussions and feedback from stakeholders, especially considering how the rights of our local land owning communities will be affected by the definition of carbon rights and this Regulation. Additional time for consultation and feedback is therefore crucial to ensure a more equitable decision process.
There is no adequate reference of the REDD+ Safeguards Guidelines in the CCMA (2021 amended) to ensure their full application where necessary, and consequent reference to them in Regulations. Changes need to be made to the CCMA (2021 amended) to include provision for or references to requirements specified in the REDD+ Safeguards Guidelines, to ensure the requirement in these Safeguards Guidelines and Regulations do not go beyond the jurisdiction and scope of the CCMA as it could be rendered invalid.
To date, we have not yet seen the final versions of the REDD+ Safeguard documents, which form the basis for the drafting of any related Climate Change Regulation, and the draft Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022 has only a general reference for the Voluntary Carbon Market. It is critical that the final versions should be shared with all stakeholders that have provided feedback to the previous drafts before further steps are taken.
Safeguard Guidelines need to be developed to cover all carbon credit generating mitigation activities, through a transparent and timely stakeholder consultation process, before this Regulation is finalised. If the final version of the REDD+ Safeguard Guidelines incorporates all major and crucial comments from the PNGEA membership, aimed to protect the interests of our people, they could form the basis of these necessary additional Safeguards Guidelines. The final versions of the REDD+ Safeguards Guidelines have to be available as reference and input documents for the discussions on the Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022.
We ask the Climate Change and Development Authority to slow down the development process of the Climate Change (Management) (Carbon Market) Regulation 2022, and to defer the National Validation Workshop for the Regulation to an agreed time, after all issues relating to the Regulation as detailed in this letter have been addressed.
We appreciate once again the approach that the CCDA has been exercising for the development of the Climate Change Management Act and believe the process will be much improved by incorporating the suggestions we outline above.
Thank you very much for your consideration and prompt action.
Yours sincerely,
Pamela Avusi
Acting Coordinator
PNG Environmental AllianceBismarck Ramu Group (BRG)
Centre for Environmental Law & Community Rights (CELCOR)
Consultative Implementation & Monitoring Council (CIMC)
FORCERT – Forests for Certain: Forests for Life!
Institute of National Affairs (INA)
Partners with Melanesians (PwM)
PNG Council of Churches (PNGCC)
Research & Conservation Foundation (RCF)
Wide Bay Conservation Association (WBCA)
Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS-PNG)Cc: Hon. Simo Kilepa, Minister for Environment, Conservation and Climate Change
Cc: Hon. James Marape, Prime Minister
Cc: Hon. Solan Mirisim, Minister for Forest
