II-AMT
International Initiative for Development of Article 6 Methodology Tools
What is the II-AMT initiative?
An open initiative developing the methodological tools that Article 6 cooperation needs in practice: additionality determination, baseline setting and beyond.
Overview
The International Initiative for Development of Article 6 Methodology Tools (II-AMT) was an international expert-led process designed to align existing baseline and monitoring methodologies with the rules and principles of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The initiative was active between 2021 and 2025, prior to the full operationalisation of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). Experts involved included methodology experts from various continents, combining regional climate policy and practice.
Under this initiative, a set of Article 6 methodology tools, covering additionality determination, baseline setting, and MRV, were developed to be added to existing methodologies in a modular fashion.
The initiative went through three phases: conceptualisation, development, and piloting.
Background & rationale
The decision accompanying the Paris Agreement emphasises that international cooperation under Articles 6.2 and 6.4 should build on lessons learnt from the Kyoto Mechanisms, including the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). However, as CDM methodologies were developed under the Kyoto Protocol, they do not take into account host countries' Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets, existing mitigation policies, or the need to align mitigation action with the Paris Agreement's long-term goal. Developing entirely new methodologies from scratch would be a costly and time-intensive process. To address this challenge, II-AMT worked to modularise Article 6 requirements, enabling their rapid application to existing methodologies.
What we did
Perspectives Climate Research convened an international expert team to design, develop and test the Article 6 methodology tools. All three phases were completed. Throughout the phases, the experts provided methodological input to inform the operationalisation of the PACM, drawing on insights from the tools' development and testing.
The expert team included Axel Michaelowa (Perspectives Climate Research, Switzerland), Derik Broekhoff (Stockholm Environment Institute, US), Francois Sammut (Carbon Limits, Norway), Jessica Wade-Murphy (Atmosphere Alternative, Colombia), Martha Ntabadde Kasozi (freelance consultant and member of the CDM methodologies panel, Uganda), Paula Macias Diaz (Carbon Limits, Norway), Randall Spalding-Fecher (Carbon Limits, Norway) and Sina Wartmann (independent consultant for MRV and Transparency, Germany).
How it unfolded
- Phase IConceptualisation
Framing the Article 6 requirements that existing methodologies need to satisfy, and how to modularise them.
- Phase IIDevelopment
Drafting the additionality, baseline and MRV tools as modular additions to existing methodologies.
- Phase IIIPiloting
Testing the tools against real carbon market activities to refine their robustness and usability.
Key publications
- 17.03.2023 CHAPEAU Document: II-AMT Perspectives Climate Group
- TOOL01: Tool for the demonstration and assessment of additionality Perspectives Climate Group
- TOOL02: Tool for robust baseline setting Perspectives Climate Group
- TOOL03: Tool for monitoring, reporting and verification of emissions, reductions and removals Perspectives Climate Group
- 17.03.2023 GUIDE01: Guidance for evaluating mitigation activities' links to the host country's Nationally Determined Contribution and long-term low-emission development strategy Perspectives Climate Group
- Rationale for methodological choices Perspectives Climate Group
Supported by
- African Development Bank Group (AfDB)
- Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action of Germany (now the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany)
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- Japan Ministry of the Environment
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- Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (UK Government)
Climate action, in practice