Key Parties of the Joint Implementation

Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC)

The JISC has tasks and functions similar to the CDM Executive Board — it has a mandate to verify ERUs generated by JI projects, and is comprised of ten members with ten alternates. The ten members of the JISC are comprised of: three members from Annex I countries classed as EITs (these are Economies in Transition such as the Russian Federation, the Baltic States, and certain Central and Eastern European States), three members from other Annex I countries, three members from non-Annex I countries, and one member to represent Small Island Developing States.

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Participant Countries

To participate in Joint Implementation as a host or investor, parties must originate from an Annex I country with emissions caps as listed in Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol. This ensures that emissions reduction units (ERUs) generated may be accounted for by transferring units between national registries.

There are two ways ERUs may be generated – Track 1 and Track 2. This is subject to the fulfillment of certain requirements by host country. ERUs may be generated via the Track 1 simplified procedure, where the host country may verify the ERUs and issue ERUs appropriately. Track 1 requires host countries to have clear processes in place for approving JI projects, monitoring project performance and verifying ERUs generated, compared to the baseline. Host countries must also have a national system to track their greenhouse gas inventory and Assigned Amount Units (AAUs). If a host country is party to the Kyoto Protocol and only fulfils the requirements of having a national registry and an Assigned Amount, ERUs may only be verified using the procedure set out by the JISC procedure, known as Track 2.

In all cases, a participant country is required to appoint a Designated Focal Point, as well as to submit national guidelines and procedures for approving JI projects.

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Designated Focal Points (DFP)

Each participant country is required to appoint a Designated Focal Point, responsible for managing local JI activities. This is the equivalent of the CDM DNA, and is in fact often the same body. At this time, there is no separate list of DFPs, instead, the DNA is the default point of contact for national activities on JI.

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Accredited Independent Entities (AIE)

AIEs are independent third-party companies, responsible for validating project documentation and verifying project performance. They are the equivalent of the Designated Operating Entities (DOEs) under the CDM, and in fact DOEs may apply for accreditation to become AIEs, as they perform very similar functions. DOEs which apply for such accreditation may provisionally act as AIEs (within their specialist sectoral scope) until a final decision is taken by the JISC Accreditation Panel, however, all activities undertaken with such provisional status will only become valid once full accreditation is achieved.

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