An emissions trading registry is an online database that issues, records, transfers and tracks the carbon units that are exchanged within market mechanisms or financed through results-based initiatives such as Emission Reductions Programs under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility’s Carbon Fund.
When a single greenhouse gas emission reduction or removal is used more than once to demonstrate compliance with mitigation targets.
Emissions trading registries are critical for avoiding “double counting”— when a single greenhouse gas emission reduction or removal is used more than once to demonstrate compliance with mitigation targets. Given the length of time and capacity needed for the development of a registry, it is essential for countries that are in the process of designing market mechanisms to factor in specific regulatory, administrative, functional and technical aspects of registry development.
The Carbon Assets Tracking System (CATS)
The Carbon Assets Tracking System (CATS) is an Emission Reduction (ER) Transaction Registry, designed and implemented to support the issuance and transactions of ER units generated under the World Bank Programs. The first release of CATS provides the foundational and central architecture for accounting and transactions of ER units under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility Carbon Fund (FCPF CF) and BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (BioCF ISFL) ER Programs.
Below are some of the key initiatives the FCPF has undertaken to support country-specific decision making and activities related to emissions registry development.