Establishing a Roadmap for the Low-Carbon Transformation of the Dominating Socio-Economic Systems. A Review of the Mechanism Proposed in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

Abstract

The paper aims at drafting a feasible roadmap to move the mechanism envisaged in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change from its current status of legal provision to an effective tool to promote mitigation worldwide, to support the establishment of a low-carbon economy and possibly to establish a new international currency. In doing so the paper first examines the significance of Article 6 within and beyond the Paris Agreement, analysing in detail its text. A set of key question follows. In providing answers to the identified key questions the paper drafts a first structure of the mechanism. In its second part the paper further develops this structure emphasising the possibility for the mechanism to represent the mean of implementation of the demand and supply of mitigation outcomes, therefore becoming the tool to price them and accordingly to price the carbon. Final remarks are focused on the significance of the mechanism as a tool to price carbon and as a new financial instrument, advocating the idea for it to become a proper currency. Due to its nature and characteristics the hypothesis of developing it as a new representative currency is finally discussed.