Federal Portal of Ethiopia
1. Overview
The Standardized Crediting Framework (SCF) is a streamlined mechanism designed to help Ethiopia access Article 6 cooperative approaches and unlock international carbon finance. Supported by technical assistance from the World Bank's Carbon Initiative for Development (Ci-Dev), the SCF has been tailored to the Ethiopian national context to ensure high-integrity emission reduction standards.
SCF is being operationalized and tested through two major national initiatives:
- Ethiopia Clean Cooking Energy Program: Utilizing the framework to verify and credit emission reductions from sustainable cooking solutions.
- Ethiopia Off-Grid Renewable Energy Program: Applying the standard to scale up renewable energy access while generating verified carbon credits.
Through these programs, Ci-Dev provides payments for verified SCF Emission Reductions (SCF ERs), demonstrating the framework's practical viability for attracting climate investment.
Technical Assistance
From development partners and international experts
Technical Assistance
For setup, capacity, and systems support
National Rules and Governance
Needed to engage in Article 6 cooperation
Real Projects and Funding
Used to test the approach in practice
2. Objectives
The main objectives of the SCF are to:
- Enhance country capacity to access Article 6 cooperative approaches;
- Speed-up the establishment and testing of rules and processes for Article 6 collaboration;
- Simplify the mitigation activity cycle for certain type of activities, to reduce transaction costs;
- Pilot cooperative approaches through real mitigation activities.
4. SCF-Ethiopia's Structure
The SCF framework clarifies on:
- Governance Structure: Clear institutional roles for the DNA (Ministry of Planning and Development) and relevant line ministries in overseeing carbon market readiness, SCF operations, and inter-agency coordination.
- Technical Standards & Methodologies: Defined procedures from project inception to issuance of credits that meet
3. Why it matters
The Standardized Crediting Framework (SCF) serves as a vital strategic tool for Ethiopia to:
- Mobilize Credible Climate Finance: By creating a transparent and government-endorsed structure for carbon credit generation and authorization, it increases investor confidence for both international and domestic climate finance flows.
- Article 6 Integration: Operationalization of Article 6 cooperative approaches (Article 6.2) allowing Ethiopia to enter bilateral carbon credit trading arrangements with other countries or entities, respecting environmental integrity and avoiding double counting.
- Policy Alignment: Links national climate goals (for instance Ethiopia's Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC3.0) and the National Carbon Market Strategy (2025)).
5. Governance Structure of the SCF
Ethiopia’s SCF governance approach is designed around clearly assigned institutional roles for strategic oversight, technical review, and day-to-day administration of the crediting cycle.
Governing Board
(GB)
(GB)
- Approves national rules, methodologies, templates, and operational tools.
- Decides on whether to issue, authorize, and transfer mitigation outcomes.
- Provides strategic oversight to the technical and administrative bodies.
Technical Committee
(TC)
(TC)
- Reviews proposed rules, methodologies, templates, and tools before approval.
- Assesses technical implications of authorizing and transferring mitigation outcomes.
- Supports quality assurance for monitoring, verification, and emissions accounting.
Administrator
(Admin)
(Admin)
- Manages listing, completeness checks, and document handling for submitted activities.
- Maintains records for listed, issued, authorized, and transferred mitigation outcomes.
- Coordinates procedural support and communication across the SCF process.
The SCF activity cycle is streamlined into a small number of practical steps, from activity preparation and listing through monitoring, verification, issuance, and authorization, with supporting guidance and templates available below.