The 2024 FCPF annual report spotlights a banner year for total FCPF emission reductions payments, which more than tripled from $53.2 million in 2023 to $164.5 million in 2024.
FCPF 2024 Annual Report
The World Bank has launched an enhanced version of its Carbon Asset Tracking System (CATS), a major step forward in global efforts to ensure environmental integrity in emission reductions (ER). The updated CATS 2.0 dashboard introduces critical improvements to align with international compliance frameworks such as Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, while also supporting new World Bank ER programs and initiatives.
CATS was launched in May 2021 as the first-of-its-kind registry for tracking emission reductions transactions. It enables the issuance and transaction of serialized ER units, providing essential support for countries that lack their own national platforms to manage these transactions. Designed, maintained, and managed by the World Bank, CATS plays a critical role in implementing Results-Based Climate Finance programs under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) and the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL).
CATS has become the leading transactional platform for jurisdictional REDD+ programs worldwide. Since its initial launch, CATS has issued and transacted a cumulative 58.3 million ER by the end of December 2024. These credits originate primarily from the FCPF Carbon Fund, dedicated to advancing sustainable climate finance.
“The enhancements to CATS 2.0 reflect our commitment to building robust infrastructure for transparent and credible emission reductions transactions,” said Olivier Mahul, Manager of the Finance Mobilization Unit in the Climate Change Global Department at the World Bank. “These advancements strengthen transparency, accountability, and environmental integrity, ensuring alignment with international standards and instilling confidence in the system.”
Emission reduction transaction registries such as CATS are crucial for mitigating the risk of “double counting,” where, for example, a single greenhouse gas reduction is claimed multiple times. By providing a secure infrastructure to record, issue, transfer, and track ER units, CATS ensures that all data meets rigorous transparency and accountability standards. This is critical for safeguarding environmental integrity and provides an important resource for countries and stakeholders committed to combat climate change.
CATS 2.0 brings significant improvements in system performance, streamlining operations, and incorporating best practices to maintain robust monitoring of ER transactions. These advancements ensure alignment with international standards and initiatives such as the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (ICAO-CORSIA), upholding the credibility and transparency of ER units.
Additionally, the platform now integrates services for funds managed under the World Bank Climate Change Group, including the Transformative Carbon Asset Facility (TCAF), BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL), Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev), and Scaling Climate Action by Lowering Emissions (SCALE). TCAF officially joined CATS in May 2024 with a first issuance of 0.5 million ER units from the Uzbekistan Innovative Carbon Resource Application For Energy Transition (iCRAFT) Program, with future international transactions anticipated for 2025.
The CATS 2.0 advancements reflect the platform’s continuous evolution. The World Bank remains committed to its development, with ongoing efforts to expand the system’s functionality and align it with evolving international requirements under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Enhancements are also underway to integrate CATS with external platforms, including the Climate Action Data Trust (meta-registry sharing information on projects and transactions from connected registries all over the world) and various registries and marketplaces.
Clear communication between carbon market infrastructures is essential for ensuring seamless transactions and transparency. In December 2024, Costa Rica successfully completed the sale of 100,000 credits generated under its FCPF ER program in the carbon market. This milestone marked the first third-party sale of FCPF credits and the first transfer of World Bank-issued credits from the CATS registry to a third-party registry (ART). The transfer was achieved through a cancellation and reissuance procedure, implemented under a formal cooperation agreement between the institutions managing both registries. This landmark transaction underscores the importance of interoperability between carbon market systems and highlights the role of CATS in facilitating credible, high-integrity emissions reductions.
A second version of the updated CATS platform is expected in May 2025.