Resolution 106/2025, enacted on September 2025, sets Cuba’s governance, approval, MRV and reporting rules for carbon market activities.
Institutional framework
- Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment [Ministerio de Ciencia, Tecnología y Medio Ambiente (CITMA) acts as the Designated National Authority (DNA)
• Ensures alignment of projects with national development plans (PDES 2030), the Sustainable Development Goals, and the State Plan for Climate Change Response (“Tarea Vida”).
• Guarantees transparency, compliance with international standards, and certification of genuine GHG reductions.
• Bases project approval on the updated National Greenhouse Gas Inventory (INGEI).
• Provides technical assistance and capacity building for stakeholders.
• Coordinates engagement with state and non-state actors, academia, and civil society.
• Promotes cooperative approaches, including those without international transfer of mitigation outcomes.
• Exercises administrative control of carbon market operations and issues complementary technical regulations.
- Technical Unit under CITMA
Serves as the operational structure for management, capacity building, promotion, evaluation, and follow-up of carbon market activities.
• Facilitates submission, evaluation, and approval of project proposals.
• Maintains a public virtual platform and a portfolio of eligible projects.
• Supports mitigation projects and low-carbon technologies, providing training and advisory services.
• Approves nationally adopted methodologies, protocols, and standards.
• Conducts preliminary evaluations and technical opinions.
• Oversees monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV), ensuring transparency and traceability of data.
• Maintains a public administrative control of market operations and serves as liaison among developers, ministries, and experts.
- Directorate-General for Environment (DGE) within CITMA
• Authorises use/transfer of certified emission reduction units from approved projects.
• Can annul project registrations and certified units for legal non-compliance.
• Integrates carbon-market data into the national Environmental Information System.
• Ensures social and environmental safeguards and gender considerations.
- External auditors
• Verify emission reductions and removals.
• Must be accredited by the National Accreditation Body of the Republic of Cuba [Órgano Nacional de Acreditación de la República de Cuba (ONARC)].
- Science, Technology Innovation entities and universities
• Conduct studies on the national potential for carbon capture and removal.
Project priorities and eligibility
- Preferred proposal attributes: Deployment of advanced technologies and innovation; mobilisation of financial resources to support national climate strategies; provision of ecosystem-based adaptation co-benefits; competitive carbon pricing; significant contributions to local development and creation of green jobs.
- Priority thematic areas: Energy transition efficiency; industrial emissions reduction; ecosystem rehabilitation/restoration; solid-waste management; food security.
Project submission and approval process
- Submission:
• Executing entities submit proposals to the DGE, with endorsement from the relevant sector ministry.
• Proposals must include a project description, estimated mitigation potential, demonstration of additionality, MRV plan, financial structure, results of public consultations, and formal endorsement from the sector ministry.
- Review and evaluation:
• DGE screening: Completeness check within three business days. Incomplete applications are returned with requirements for resubmission.
• Technical Unit review: Issues a technical opinion (approval, rejection, or conditional approval) within 30 calendar days.
• Inter-ministerial consultation: Positive technical opinions are reviewed by the Ministry of Economy and Planning, the Ministry of Finance and Prices, and the Central Bank of Cuba.
• Decision: The DGE issues or denies authorization for proponents to negotiate bilateral agreements, subject to foreign collaboration and investment regulations.
- Appeals:
• Reconsideration before the DGE within 30 calendar days.
• Further appeal to the Minister of CITMA within 30 calendar days. The Minister’s decision exhausts administrative remedies, with judicial recourse available thereafter.
- Certification and transfer: Once units are certified, DGE authorizes their use or transfer.
NDC corresponding adjustments
For activities covered by Cuba’s NDC:
- Proponents must show how mitigation ambition is maintained.
- Technical Unit performs corresponding adjustments (CA) where required, distinguishing domestic (unconditional) actions from those conditional on international finance.
- CITMA may change the applicable CA method in line with evolving international guidance.
Administrative control reporting
- The DGE maintains an Administrative Control System that tracks transfers, acquisitions, cancellations, corresponding adjustments, and use of credits through unique identifiers.
- Project proponents must register their project within 30 business days of registration under a recognized carbon standard.
- Annual reporting is mandatory, covering transactions, unsold credits, and any other monitoring information required by CITMA.
MRV, transparency national reporting
- MRV: The Technical Unit facilitates monitoring, reporting, and verification for each project to ensure transparency, visibility, accessibility, and traceability.
- Transparency Reporting: CITMA reports progress on carbon market activities through Biennial Transparency Reports, consistent with UNFCCC modalities and guidelines.
- Communication Strategy: CITMA integrates carbon market developments into its broader communication efforts to ensure engagement of stakeholders and the general public.
