The MATS project provides a potential means to support the implementation of ambitious mitigation measures in the Dominican Republic’s NDC. To achieve these ambitious targets, approximately USD 9 billion in finance will be needed for mitigation measures.

As a result, the Dominican Republic is likely to require different streams of international finance to help cover this mitigation financing needs, with global carbon finance being a suitable channel for supporting the achievement of conditional and beyond-conditional efforts. This project covers the initial activities to support Dominican Republic’s sustainable participation in international carbon markets. Key activities include assessing the country’s readiness under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and evaluating the potential of various sectors to generate emission reductions or carbon removals that can be traded internationally.

The project aims to foster the capacity development of relevant stakeholders for their participation in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Additionally, it seeks to provide technical assistance to establish relevant institutional frameworks and identify eligible priority sectors and activities, with the objective of achieving the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in the Dominican Republic. To do this, the project has the following key objectives:

1. Build capacity, awareness, research and coordination among government and market participants
2. Assess Dominican Republic’s potential pipeline of carbon removal and emissions reduction projects for Article 6 cooperation.

The Dominican Republic is currently making substantial strides in its efforts to advance carbon markets domestically. Although the country has not yet comprehensively regulated carbon markets, it has consistently engaged with carbon finance and carbon markets since 2008, when Decree No. 601-08 established the National Office for the Clean Development Mechanism (ONMDL)

The ONMDL is responsible for facilitating and promoting carbon markets, with activities also receiving support from the Collaborative Instruments for Ambitious Climate Action (CiACA),an initiative that assists countries in developing carbon pricing instruments for implementing their NDCs.

In line with the efforts of the Dominican Republic to strengthen its legal framework in the area of climate change, Decree 541-20 subsequently established the National MRV System, subdivided into three technical layers or systems: the National GHG Inventory System (INGEI); the system for the registration of GHG emission mitigation actions; and the system of registration of support and financing to mitigate and adapt to climate change.

Furthermore, the Dominican Republic has also been a prominent actor in the development of mitigation activities and supply of carbon credits under different types of carbon markets. International carbon markets linked to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement have gained considerable traction in the past year, with several developing and developed countries establishing their national governance frameworks to effectively participate in these markets.

A readiness and needs assessment reports to support the identification and prioritization of capacity building needs for different stakeholders’ groups potentially engaged into carbon market activities.

Based on the identification of potential Article 6 projects, a longlist will be developed, which will include a high-level estimate of each project’s mitigation potential, cost of abatement and feasibility.