The Technical Expert Panel (TEP), a high-level collaborative body co-convened by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and Carbon Measures, has officially announced the appointment of former Colombian President Iván Duque as the Chair of its newly established Advisory Group. This strategic move aims to bridge the gap between rigorous technical carbon accounting and the practical needs of global policymakers and business leaders. The TEP, which comprises a diverse assembly of experts from academia, financial accounting, heavy industry, and civil society, is tasked with the development of a globally applicable, product-level carbon emissions accounting framework. As the world moves toward more stringent climate regulations and mandatory sustainability disclosures, the TEP’s work represents a critical step in harmonizing how the carbon footprint of goods and services is measured and reported across international supply chains.
The appointment of Mr. Duque, who served as the President of Colombia from 2018 to 2022, comes at a pivotal moment for the initiative. While the TEP’s technical experts focus on the granular mathematics of emissions tracking, the Advisory Group is designed to provide the strategic oversight necessary to ensure these technical standards are scalable, politically viable, and commercially relevant. Mr. Duque will serve in his personal capacity, leveraging a career that spans international finance, economic development, and aggressive environmental advocacy.
The Mission of the Technical Expert Panel and the Advisory Group
The primary objective of the TEP is to solve one of the most persistent challenges in the transition to a low-carbon economy: the lack of a standardized, interoperable method for calculating carbon emissions at the product level. While corporate-level reporting—tracking the total emissions of a company—has matured significantly under frameworks like the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol, product-level accounting remains fragmented. This fragmentation often leads to "carbon leakage," where emissions are obscured within complex global supply chains, and "greenwashing," where claims of product sustainability lack a verifiable evidence base.
The TEP’s framework seeks to provide a "universal language" for carbon. By bringing together the ICC, which represents over 45 million companies in more than 170 countries, and Carbon Measures, a leader in emissions data science, the initiative combines global commercial reach with technical precision. The Advisory Group, under Mr. Duque’s leadership, will act as the external-facing arm of this effort. Its role is to engage with stakeholders who will eventually implement or be governed by these standards, including government regulators, procurement officers, and C-suite executives.
Andrew Wilson, ICC Deputy Secretary General, emphasized the strategic importance of this leadership role, noting that Mr. Duque’s experience in navigating the intersection of economic growth and environmental stewardship is vital for building global consensus. The Advisory Group is expected to expand in the coming months, adding members from diverse geographical regions and industrial sectors to ensure the framework does not inadvertently create trade barriers for developing nations.
A Legacy of Climate Leadership: The Profile of Iván Duque
Iván Duque’s selection as Chair is rooted in his track record of elevating environmental policy to the center of national governance. During his presidency, Colombia emerged as a regional leader in climate action. In 2021, his administration passed the Climate Action Law, a landmark piece of legislation that codified Colombia’s commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 51% by 2030. These targets were among the most ambitious in Latin America at the time.
Before his presidency, Mr. Duque spent over a decade at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), where he focused on economic development and social innovation. This background provided him with a deep understanding of how capital markets function and how they can be redirected toward sustainable projects. Since leaving office, he has remained a prominent figure on the global stage, working with the Bezos Earth Fund and Conservation International. He also launched the Concordia Amazon Initiative, focusing on the preservation of the world’s most critical rainforest ecosystem.
In his new role with the TEP, Mr. Duque has expressed a clear vision: to enhance transparency in the mobilization of capital. He argues that without high-standard climate accounting, investors cannot accurately assess the risks or the impact of their portfolios, which slows down the pace of global decarbonization.
The Technical Challenges of Product-Level Carbon Accounting
The work of the TEP is set against a backdrop of increasing technical complexity. Measuring the carbon footprint of a single product—for example, a smartphone or a ton of steel—requires data from every stage of its life cycle, from raw material extraction and manufacturing to transport, use, and eventual disposal. This is known as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA).
Current obstacles to a global framework include:
- Data Silos: Information regarding emissions often resides within individual companies and is rarely shared across the supply chain due to proprietary concerns or lack of digital infrastructure.
- Inconsistent Methodologies: Different regions and industries use varying sets of "emission factors" (the ratio of emissions produced per unit of activity), leading to discrepancies in final calculations.
- Scope 3 Complexity: For most manufacturers, the vast majority of their carbon footprint lies in "Scope 3" emissions—those produced by suppliers and end-users. Tracking these requires a level of transparency that currently does not exist in most global trade routes.
The TEP is working to establish a set of technical conclusions that are independent and scientifically rigorous. The Advisory Group’s task is to ensure these conclusions are "real-world ready." Amy Brachio, CEO of Carbon Measures, highlighted that getting the technical work right is only half the battle. The framework must be usable for a small-scale manufacturer in an emerging market just as much as it is for a multinational corporation in Europe.
Chronology of Global Carbon Accounting Milestones
The TEP’s initiative is the latest in a series of global efforts to standardize climate data. Understanding the timeline of these developments provides context for why the TEP and Mr. Duque’s leadership are necessary now:
- 2001: The Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol is first launched, providing the first major corporate accounting and reporting standard.
- 2015: The Paris Agreement is signed, creating a legal requirement for nations to track and report their emissions reductions.
- 2017: The Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) releases its recommendations, shifting the focus to how climate change poses financial risks to businesses.
- 2021: Colombia passes its Climate Action Law under President Duque, setting a precedent for legislative climate commitments in the Global South.
- 2023: The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) issues its first global standards (S1 and S2), aimed at creating a global baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures.
- 2024: The TEP and Carbon Measures accelerate work on product-level standards, appointing Iván Duque to lead the Advisory Group to ensure these standards align with global trade and policy needs.
Broad Implications for Global Trade and Finance
The development of a globally consistent carbon accounting framework has profound implications for the future of international trade. One of the most significant pressures is the rise of carbon border adjustment mechanisms, such as the European Union’s CBAM. These policies impose a carbon price on imported goods based on their emissions intensity. Without a standardized way to prove a product’s carbon footprint, exporters—particularly those in developing nations—may face significant tariffs or be excluded from major markets.
Furthermore, the financial sector is increasingly demanding "investment-grade" climate data. Banks and asset managers are under pressure from both regulators and shareholders to prove that their "green" funds are actually contributing to emissions reductions. A product-level accounting framework would allow for much higher granularity in green financing, enabling banks to offer lower interest rates to companies that can prove their specific products are produced with lower emissions than the industry average.
By chairing the Advisory Group, Mr. Duque is expected to facilitate dialogues between the TEP and the World Trade Organization (WTO), the G20, and various regional trade blocs. The goal is to ensure that the TEP’s framework becomes the "gold standard" that is adopted by these international bodies, thereby preventing a patchwork of conflicting national regulations that would increase the cost of doing business.
Conclusion and Future Outlook
The TEP’s work, bolstered by the strategic leadership of Iván Duque, represents a maturation of the global climate movement. The focus is shifting from high-level pledges to the "plumbing" of the global economy—the technical standards and accounting rules that determine how value is measured in a warming world.
In the coming months, the Advisory Group is expected to announce additional members, including representatives from major manufacturing hubs in Asia and Africa. This expansion will be critical to ensuring that the framework is truly global and does not inadvertently favor the industrial structures of developed economies. As Mr. Duque assumes his role, the international community will be watching closely to see if this initiative can provide the transparency and trust needed to accelerate the global transition to net-zero. The success of the TEP will ultimately be measured by its ability to turn complex climate data into a practical tool for economic transformation.
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