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frameworks that can facilitate technology transfers between companies and nations.But it is not just about ensuring the rules are in place at an international level. By their very nature, INDCs must be grounded in national policies. This could create demand for the international market mechanisms that governments say they want – such as via national emissions trading programmes. Already, 50 jurisdictions, home to more than one billion people, have a carbon price, including in the US, Canada, across Europe, South Korea, China and New Zealand, so any newcomers would be in good company. Efforts such as the World Bank’s Partnership for Market Readiness (PMR), which has been laying the foundations for new markets in developing countries worldwide over the past few years, can help with this. The hard work by the Bank is paying off, most recently in Thailand which, at the start of April, announced plans to establish a domestic ETS. Other countries which are leveraging PMR experience into action include Vietnam, China, Mexico and South Africa. As carbon markets continue to spread around the world, countries can cooperate to do more together by forming international linkages between systems – which could also help shape the rules and guidance for transactions of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under the Paris Agreement. Forming linkages can help establish common rules for market oversight and functioning, such as emissions monitoring, reporting and verification standards. These conversations can feed back into the discussions for the Paris Agreement rules, smoothing the path to implementation and helping create a best practice model for others to follow. Such links can help lower costs, by widening the pool of potential participants and increasing the range of investment possibilities. This is crucial to accelerating clean energy investment at the pace Above: Figure 1: Carbon Markets and INDCs. Map provided by IETA’s INDC Tracker. 052 FINANCE AND INVESTMENT