The objective of the A6.4 SD Tool is to ensure that Article 6.4 projects and/or Article 6.4 PoAs, collectively referred to as A6.4 activities, uphold the principle of “do no harm”, foster sustainable development (SD), and contribute to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The A6.4 SD Tool applies to all A6.4 activities including all clean development mechanism (CDM) activities seeking eligibility for transition to the Article 6.4 mechanism. Its scope encompasses the decisions of the CMA, which outline the formal expectations for the Article 6.4 mechanism, as well as the rules and requirements developed by the Supervisory Body for operationalizing the mechanism. Specifically, the tool provides a means for activity participants to demonstrate that they have met the mandatory requirements for identifying and addressing social and environmental risks, as well as for assessing and enhancing the contributions of A6.4 activities to SD in line with SD objectives and priorities of the host Party and the SDGs.
To achieve its objective, the tool provides a structured approach for activity participants to:
- Conduct a risk assessment to identify risks and potential impacts, evaluate them, and avoid harm where possible. When avoidance is not feasible, the A6.4 SD Tool instructs participants to minimize impacts as much as possible and, finally, to mitigate any remaining negative environmental and social impacts and risks by establishing activity-level environmental and social indicators;
- Identify and assess potential positive and negative impacts on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and host Party SD priorities and establish activity-level SD monitoring indicators;
- Monitor and report the outcomes of the monitoring against the established activity-level environmental and social indicators and activity-level SD indicators.