Legislative Decree 54-2023 on the Special Law on Forest Carbon Transactions for Climate Justice

In October 2023, Honduras established its national carbon market for forestry-related carbon offsets through Decree 54-2023. In particular, Article 7 of the Decree creates a National Commission for Carbon Transactions that is responsible for producing the internal regulations, technical documents and feasibility guidelines arising from the Decree, amongst other responsibilities. The Decree also creates a Technical Entity (Article 10) which is responsible for providing technical support to the National Commission for Carbon Transactions, including the review and evaluation of carbon transaction requests; and the design and implementaiton of a registry system for carbon transactions. In parallel to the national carbon market, the Decree sets out a 'debt for nature carbon swap' mechanism (Article 16) which can be used to exchange a debt for the conservation and preservation of a natural area. The Decree also stipulates that principles relating to climate justice, equity, and environmental and nature protection must be observed in the application of the Decree (Article 4).