Eligible activities
The sectors Malawi will host under Article 6, and the negative list of what it will not authorize.
Eligibility runs in three tests. An activity must meet the general criteria, fall within a sector Malawi has opened to Article 6, and avoid everything on the negative list. Meeting all three makes an activity eligible — it does not make it additional, which is assessed separately when the idea note is reviewed.
Every activity must satisfy all three.
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01
It contributes to sustainable development and meets environmental integrity requirements
Assessed against nine criteria including environmental impact, local participation, social benefits, gender equality and long-term sustainability.
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02
It is consistent with Malawi’s NDC priorities or another national decarbonisation strategy
Activities outside the NDC must at least fall within a sector covered by the National Inventory Report.
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03
It would not have happened otherwise, without additional finance
Eligibility does not confer additionality. The Department assesses this with technical input from the Mitigation Expert Working Group when it reviews your idea note.
Article 6 Framework, section 5.2.2.
Eligible sectors and measures.
Drawn from the conditional portion of Malawi’s Nationally Determined Contribution. Activities inside the unconditional target are excluded — the country has already undertaken to deliver those.
| Sector | Sub-sector | Measure |
|---|---|---|
| Energy | Electricity generation | Grid-connected hydropower, 20 MW installed or below |
| Energy | Electricity generation | Grid-connected large-scale solar PV and solar home systems |
| Energy | Electricity generation | Grid-connected wind power |
| Energy | Electricity generation | Public lighting using renewables or energy efficiency |
| Energy | Electricity generation | Off-grid small-scale solar PV systems |
| Energy | Transport | Electric mobility in public and private fleets, and charging infrastructure |
| Energy | Transport | Hydrogen vehicles and associated infrastructure |
| Energy | Transport | Modal shift from private to passenger transport |
| Energy | Transport | Modal shift from road to rail freight |
| Energy | Transport | Ethanol blending with gasoline, towards a 20% national blend rate |
| Energy | Transport | Biodiesel blending with diesel as a transport fuel |
| Energy | Buildings | Biofuel, electric and solar cookstoves |
| Energy | Industry and manufacturing | Efficient air conditioning |
| Energy | Industry and manufacturing | Energy efficiency measures |
| IPPU | Minerals industry | Rice husk ash in blended cement |
| IPPU | Minerals industry | Earth-stabilised blocks as building materials |
| IPPU | Minerals industry | Alternative low-carbon cement processes |
| Waste | Solid waste | Landfill gas extraction and utilisation |
| Waste | Solid waste | Waste reduction practices |
| Waste | Solid waste | Waste to energy |
| Waste | Wastewater | Wastewater treatment and reuse |
| Agriculture | Crop management | Conservation agriculture — crop residue and rotation |
| Agriculture | Crop management | Efficient fertiliser use and manure management |
| Agriculture | Crop management | Improved rice management practices |
| Agriculture | Livestock | Improved livestock husbandry |
| Agriculture | Livestock | Improved farm management, including biogas digesters |
The Framework’s sector table also names a clean coal measure, while its negative list bars the use of fossil fuels for energy production. Because the Framework provides that negative-list activities shall not be authorized, the negative list governs. Do not build a proposal on that entry without written confirmation from the Office.
Separately, forestry does not appear in the sector table, although the Framework’s project-by-project route expressly contemplates it. Forestry activities are therefore assessed individually rather than through the positive list.
What will not be authorized.
Activities on this list cannot generate mitigation outcomes, and no corresponding adjustment will be applied to them.
| No. | Excluded |
|---|---|
| 01 | Any activity within Malawi’s unconditional NDC scope |
| 02 | Any activity outside the scope of the National Inventory Report |
| 03 | Use of nuclear energy |
| 04 | Use of fossil fuels for energy production, or extraction of fossil energy sources |
| 05 | Hydro plants with an installed power above 20 MW |
| 06 | Waste sector activities without recovery of material or energy |
| 07 | Activities conflicting with environmental or human rights conventions ratified by Malawi |
Beyond the current list, the Framework signals an intention to promote green hydrogen, geothermal power, and carbon capture and storage or utilisation. These need more time to develop, and are not yet part of the positive list.
Your activity fits. What now?
Register on the national registry and submit an idea note. Eligibility is only the first gate — additionality is assessed when the Office reviews it.