CACE facilitates ITMO auctions through a dynamic marketplace that brings together project developers and buyers on an innovative platform for trading emissions reductions, thus allowing countries’ public and private actors to trade their excess reductions.

The objective of the auctions is to create a success story of an ITMO market and provide a transparent and strong price signal for ITMOs among private sector entities. It is widely accepted that retirement by ITMOs by private sector buyers for their international mitigation purposes brings the benefit of “net mitigation” in the context of the global accounting of emissions. Furthermore, the auctions are expected to connect a global network of project developers supplying high-quality ITMOs with a wide range of potential ITMO buyers, all hosted on a transparent technology platform. The auction platform is a secure, internationally renowned platform with end-to-end functionality from auction setup to results generated and distributed. The auction platform will connect all auction users through role-based permissions and customized solutions for ITMOs which are financial and NDC-additional. All ITMOs have clearly defined SDG impacts and are authorized by a host government for issuance as ITMOs and for international transfers.

This initiative is designed to support project proponents who need equity investment for implementing their carbon reduction projects. These proponents are typically unable to solely depend on performance-based payments, such as those offered through auctions, due to the need for upfront financing.

The call for projects will be developed in collaboration with investors. This collaboration is crucial for identifying high-priority mitigation sectors that align with the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategies of target countries.

CACE will work alongside investors to identify eligible sectors and sub-sectors for these projects. Following this, CACE will be responsible for developing the necessary legal and technical tender documents needed for the call for projects.

The evaluation and selection of projects will be done through an expert review. Submitted projects will undergo a thorough evaluation by CACE’s in-house team of experts. This evaluation will focus on ensuring that the projects meet the criteria of NDC additionality (meaning they contribute to a country’s NDC goals) and project-level additionality (implying that the projects would not occur without the provided support).

Through predefined selection criteria, projects that demonstrate the most significant potential for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions and sustainable development impacts will be prioritized. This ensures that the selected projects align with environmental goals and broader sustainable development objectives.

CACE will offer matchmaking and support and will play a facilitative role in connecting the selected project proponents with investors. Additionally, CACE will provide support throughout the project’s lifecycle, especially in the carbon layer aspect, to ensure that the projects can generate verifiable mitigation outcomes.