FRAMEWORK FOR DOMESTIC OFFSET STANDARD AND GUIDELINE MANUAL

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The request for expression of interest follows the Guidelines as per the Grant Agreement:P155885 - South Africa Partnership for Market Readiness - ZA-ETA-77112-CS-QCBS

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The National Treasury of South Africa has received a grant from the World Bank to appoint a suitable independent service provider that can support the Department of Energy to develop and test the framework to guide the development, assessment and approval of potential eligible domestic carbon offsets standard(s) in addition to the three (3) identified international carbon offsets standards under the South African carbon offsets programme and a guideline manual to guide all carbon offsets system role-players .

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The activities included under this project are:

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Develop and test a framework to guide the development, assessment and approval of potential eligible domestic carbon offsets standard(s) in addition to the three identified international carbon standards under the South African carbon offset programme. The framework development will include the following sub-activities –

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Review the three eligible international carbon offsets standards to determine the technical requirements thereof and methodologies applicable which should form the basis and inform the requirements the domestic offset standard(s) should comply with to ensure robustness and approval by the Minister of Energy as per the Draft Regulation on the carbon offset.

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Develop the requirements, criteria, and approval process that must be followed by the technical committee to be constituted when assessing and making recommendations to the Minister for approval and inclusion of other eligible domestic offset standard(s) under the carbon offset programme.

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Identify and recommend how the technical committee responsible for assessing and making recommendations to the Minister for approval and inclusion of other eligible domestic standard(s) under the carbon offset programme in addition to the already three eligible international standards should be constituted, its roles and responsibilities, and how it should be structured, administered, resourced and funding requirements.

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Identify potential relevant institutions and, where applicable, steering committee or expert review committee members to support the technical committee.

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Develop a framework for domestic offset standard development, assessment and approval with a clear implementation plan containing a clear process and timelines for effective and efficient assessment of new standard(s) applications.

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Through the assistance of DoE and National Treasury, identify an existing domestic standard to be used for pilot testing of the robustness of the developed framework.

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Test the robustness of the developed framework using the identified domestic standard(s) and submit recommendations to the Minister for approval and inclusion of the tested eligible domestic standard under the carbon offsets programme in addition to the already three eligible international standards.

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Develop a manual to guide all role players on how the carbon offset programme will operate. The following sub-activities should be undertaken –

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Review the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) manual developed for the South African carbon offset administration system and enhance it so it forms the basis of a user-friendly manual.

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Develop a clear guideline manual targeting all role players in the South African carbon offset system which include project developers, taxpayers, and offset credit owners on the operations of the carbon offsets administration system.The guideline manual should contain and assist all role players in better understanding f the following –

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The South African carbon tax and carbon offsets programme;

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Scope of the South African offset programme i.e. carbon offsets eligibility criteria;

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Carbon offsets eligible standards;

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Carbon offsets project life cycle;

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Carbon offsets programme processes i.e. application of Extended Letter of Application (ELOA) process and documents needed; attestation of voluntary cancellation procedures; listing requirements; listing of carbon offset credits in the South African registry; notice of transfer requirements; transfer process; process to request offset certificate; using offsets against tax liability; and retirement of offset credits; and

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Roles and responsibilities of all relevant stakeholders.

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Develop a final report capturing the outputs of all the project activities and sub-activities, detailing both the guideline manual report and framework report on the domestic offset standard development, assessment and approval.

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The National Treasury invites eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing these services. Interested consulting firms should demonstrate a minimum of 10 years experience in developing carbon offset protocols,standards, methodologies and institutional framework(s) required for implementation of carbon market mechanisms such as carbon offsets projects and a track record working with Governments in developing and implementing guideline manuals on mandatory carbon pricing mechanisms. Consultants may constitute Joint Ventures (JV) to enhance their chances of qualification provided profiles for all the involved companies are submitted as well attaching the JV Agreement between the parties. This shall involve the Consultants or JV having led at least 5 successful projects that developed and implemented the carbon offset protocols, standards, methodologies and institutional framework(s) that supported implementation of carbon market mechanism such as carbon offsets. The shortlisting criteria are:

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Evidence of company registration;

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Statement of capability, relevant experience and roles in the proposed projects;

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Familiarity with the South African Carbon Tax Policy and understanding of carbon offsets mechanisms;

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Similar assignments undertaken in similar conditions by type and cost;

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Availability of appropriate skills among staff ; and

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Ability to negotiate contracts with preferred entities

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Interested consultants may obtain further information at the address below during office hours 08h00 to 16h30 hours local time, Mondays to Friday excluding public holidays.

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Expression of interest must be delivered in person in a sealed envelope clearly marked on the outside “development of guideline manual to guide all carbon offsets role-players,develop and test the framework to guide the development, assessment and approval of potential eligible domestic carbon offsets standard(s) in addition to the three (3) identified international carbon offsets standards under the South African carbon offsets programme”, to the address below by 27 February 2019 at 11:00 midday local time.