Result of Service

The Carbon Markets and Article 6 Consultant for Costa Rica will collaborate with the Climate Ambition and Transparency Team to achieve these main goals:

Collectively improve the overall knowledge of the scope and functioning of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Costa Rica through a regional approach.
Actively participate with the relevant stakeholders from these participating countries to comply with the institutional, technical and operational requirements to establish or participate in new or existing carbon markets. This will not only support the participating countries to comply with the goals established in their NDCs but also allow the national governments to increase their ambition and cooperation among parties in their commitments under the Paris Agreement. It is expected that the consultant for Carbon Markets and Article 6 for Costa Rica will collectively improve the overall knowledge of the scope and functioning of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Costa Rica through a regional approach and actively participate with the relevant stakeholders from these participating countries to comply with the institutional, technical and operational requirements to establish or participate in new or existing carbon markets. This will not only support the participating countries to comply with the goals established in their NDCs, but also allow the national governments to increase their ambition and cooperation among parties in their commitments under the Paris Agreement. Specific tasks and responsibilities Under the direct supervision of The UNEP’s Programme Management Officer for Energy Efficiency of the Climate Change Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean Office, the consultant for Carbon Markets and Article 6 for Costa Rica shall perform the following activities Outcome 2.2. GCF recipient countries have developed or enhanced strategic frameworks to address policy gaps, improve sectoral expertise, and enhance enabling environments for GCF programming in low-emission investment. Output 2.2.1. Conditions needed for the implementation frameworks for the future operationalization of carbon markets mechanisms and Article 6 in the participating countries have been identified.
Activity 1. Provide technical input and timely revisions to Costa Rica's roadmap for the implementation of carbon markets and Article 6. This roadmap will be developed by a consulting firm. Responsibilities: The consultant will be responsible for providing feedback and facilitating active review by national focal points in the government of the roadmap for the implementation of carbon markets and Article 6. The technical input from the consultant and the feedback from the focal points must be detailed in monthly reports presented by the consultant to the supervisor. Timeframe: The roadmap will be developed by the consulting firm during the third and fourth quarters of 2026. Output 2.2.2. Technical capacities of NDAs and key stakeholders to comply with the requirements for the implementation of carbon markets are strengthened and eligibility criteria for projects are defined to participate in Article 6 in each country.
Activity 2. Facilitate the participation of the NDA and local stakeholders in Costa Rica in knowledge exchange events organized by the project at the regional level; these events aim to strengthen the technical capacities related to meeting the requirements for the implementation of carbon markets. Responsibilities: The consultant will liaise with local stakeholders and the project focal point to promote their participation in capacity building workshops. The consultant must analyze quantitatively the participation of national stakeholders in these workshops by gender and affiliation, including the involvement of local and indigenous people and vulnerable communities. Timeframe: The events will be developed by the consulting firm during 2026.
Activity 3. Provide technical input and timely revisions to the national protocol for the exchange of mitigation outcomes in Costa Rica. This protocol will be developed by a consulting firm. Responsibilities: The consultant will be responsible for providing feedback and facilitating active review by national focal points of the protocol for the exchange of mitigation outcomes in Costa Rica. The technical input from the consultant and the feedback from the focal points must be detailed in monthly reports presented by the consultant to the supervisor. Timeframe: The protocol will be presented by the consulting firm in the third quarter of 2026.
Activity 4. Facilitate the participation of the NDA and provide technical input for the successful application of the national protocol for the international transfer of mitigation outcomes in Costa Rica. Responsibilities: The consultant will facilitate access to relevant project information, liaise with project developers and responsible public institutions, and provide national-level technical and contextual inputs required for the application of the national protocol. The consultant will also liaise with the NDA to facilitate the proper application of the protocol, considering national priorities. Timeframe: The report of the application of the protocol will be presented by the consulting firm in the fourth quarter of 2026. Outcome 2.4. Strategies for transforming and attracting private sector investment for low emissions and resilience developed and being used. Output 2.4.1. Private sector knowledge on Article 6 implementation is bolstered through capacity building workshops, and reports, guidelines and tools are developed to increase the participation of the private sector in the development of projects to reduce GHG emissions by sources and increase removals by sinks.
Activity 5. Provide local information to the consulting firm on the private sector in Costa Rica and support the dissemination of reports and guidelines developed by the consulting firm related to the opportunities for project developers under Article 6. Responsibilities: The consultant will gather information from the NDA and relevant public institutions about project developers and other private actors, through meetings with stakeholders, gathering documents and review to deliver to the consulting firms compressed information with key aspects for further development in the reports and guidelines. The information will be presented by reports and meetings minutes. Additionally, once the technical analysis and guidelines are ready, he or she will also organize meetings with the stakeholders to present the documents prepared by the consulting firm. These meetings will allow the technical team to receive feedback and incorporate them in the final documents. Timeframe: The regional and local reports and guidelines are expected to be delivered by the consulting firm during the third quarter of 2026. Output 2.4.2. Bankable private sector projects and programmes to advance and scale up carbon markets in all participating countries are identified and assessed through the development of comprehensive country-level project pipelines to catalyze climate financing in the medium to long term.
Activity 6. Provide technical support to the consulting firm in the identification of potential projects to advance and scale up carbon markets and Article 6 mechanisms in Costa Rica. Responsibilities: The consultant will collaborate with the consulting firm in gathering information from the NDA and the private sector on potential emission reduction projects by arranging meetings and forms of communication to facilitate the receipt of information. The consultant will compile, analyze, and process this information to facilitate a local diagnosis that considers technical aspects such as the sector, emission reduction potential, and alignment with the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Timeframe: The identification of the project portfolio will be delivered by the consulting firm during the third quarter of 2026.
Activity 7. Provide technical input to the consulting firm for the selection of the most technically sound project and for the prefeasibility study to assess its viability and potential for transformational change. Responsibilities: The consultant will organize meetings between the NDA and the consulting firm to select a project from the portfolio for the prefeasibility study to be developed by the consulting firm. He or she will also provide technical information related to the project: regulations in place, alignment with the NDC, potential for scaling up, relevant sectors, trajectory of the potential project, social-economical-environmental risks, under others; needed by the consulting firm as input to the prefeasibility study. Timeframe: The selection and the prefeasibility study of the project will be delivered by the consulting firm during the third and fourth quarter 2026.

Work Location

San Jose, Costa Rica

Expected duration

3 MONTHS

Duties and Responsibilities

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is the leading global environmental authority that sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the coherent implementation of the environmental dimension of sustainable development within the United Nations system and serves as an authoritative advocate for the global environment. Its mandate is to coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the attention of governments and the international community for action. The UNEP Latin America and the Caribbean Office (LACO), located in Panama City, works closely with the 33 countries of the region and its activities are integrated into the Medium-Term Strategy and the Programme of Work approved by the United Nations Environment Assembly (UNEA). One of the most relevant challenges posed to countries by the implementation of the Paris Agreement is the importance of ensuring strong Transparency Frameworks. Article 13 of the Paris Agreement establishes the need for Parties to implement national robust and transparent monitoring, reporting, verification and accounting systems to give clarity on action and support while providing clear information to stakeholders to be available to assess if the necessary is being done in relation to compliance with the commitments assumed to face climate change. As part of building and enhancing their Transparency Frameworks, Parties of the United Nations Frame Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will progressively implement better tools and institutional arrangements, many of them not sufficiently developed in the countries. This is especially true for developing countries. The UNFCCC enhanced transparency framework demands substantial and immediate progress in the countries´ domestic Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) and Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) systems and strategic de-carbonization and adaptation planning. This entails moving from disintegrated and often different methodological approaches in data management to an integrated and robust system. The success of the Paris Agreement hinges on enhanced transparency of action and support, as a critical foundation to making its bottom-up country-led approach work, as well as mutual trust and confidence amongst Parties. In this line, the UNEP Transparency and Climate Ambition Team has developed, together with eight (8) countries of the region, a Regional Readiness Proposal “Capacity Building in Carbon Markets and Article 6”. This proposal seeks to collectively improve: i) the overall knowledge of the scope and functioning of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Panama, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras, Argentina, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador through a regional approach and, ii) support the relevant stakeholders from these participating countries to comply with the institutional, technical and operational requirements to establish or participate in new or existing carbon markets. This will not only support the participating countries to comply with the goals established in their NDCs but also allow the national governments to increase their ambition, transparency and cooperation among parties in their commitments under the Paris Agreement. Therefore, the Climate Ambition and Transparency Team is looking for a Carbon Markets and Article 6 Consultant for Costa Rica to steer down the execution of the Readiness activities in the country. The incumbent will be supervised by the UNEP’s Programme Management Officer for Energy Efficiency of the Climate Change Unit for Latin America and the Caribbean Office. The consultant will be based at the Ministry of Environment and Energy (San José, Costa Rica) and will work 20 working hours per week, part time, from Monday to Friday.

Qualifications/special skills

ACADEMIC

Bachelor's degree in law, engineering, environmental sciences, economics, finance, administration, political science, international relations or a related field of studies is required.
Master´s degree in environmental sciences, climate change policy, carbon markets, economics, finance, administration, political science, international relations or related fields is desirable. PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Four (4) years of experience in environmental policy, climate change, environmental sciences, environmental economics, climate policy, research in environmental sciences, or related fields is required.
Two (2) years of stakeholder engagement in public institutions is desirable.
Knowledge of carbon markets and Article 6 is desirable. SPECIAL SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE SKILLS
Excellent understanding of global and national climate change issues, in particular related to transparency and carbon markets is desirable.
Knowledge and understanding of theories, concepts and approaches relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation planning, and intergovernmental climate change negotiations is desirable PROFESSIONALISM Ability to identify issues, analyze and participate in the resolution of issues/problems. Ability to apply judgment in the context of assignments given, plan own work and manage conflicting priorities. Shows pride in work and in achievements; Demonstrates professional competence and mastery of subject matter; Is conscientious and efficient in meeting commitments, observing deadlines and achieving results; Is motivated by professional rather than personal concerns; Shows persistence when faced with difficult problems or challenges; Remains calm in stressful situations. TEAMWORK Works collaboratively with colleagues to achieve organizational goals; solicits input by genuinely valuing others' ideas and expertise; is willing to learn from others; supports and acts in accordance with final group decision, even when such decisions may not entirely reflect own position; shares credit for team accomplishments and accepts joint responsibility for team shortcomings. PLANNING AND ORGANIZING Develops clear goals that are consistent with agreed strategies; identifies priority activities and assignments; adjusts priorities as required; allocates appropriate amount of time and resources for completing work; foresees risks and allows for contingencies when planning; monitors and adjusts plans and actions as necessary; uses time efficiently.

Languages

Fluency in Spanish is required

Confident level of English is desirable.

No Fee

THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CHARGE A FEE AT ANY STAGE OF THE RECRUITMENT PROCESS (APPLICATION, INTERVIEW MEETING, PROCESSING, OR TRAINING). THE UNITED NATIONS DOES NOT CONCERN ITSELF WITH INFORMATION ON APPLICANTS’ BANK ACCOUNTS.

Carbon Markets and Article 6 Consultant for Costa Rica - Capacity Building in Carbon Markets and Article 6 Readiness Proposal