The AEPC Benin’s missions are to:

• Protect national assets and guarantee ownership of carbon assets associated with the Republic of Benin
• Guarantee maximum quality of carbon credits from projects in Benin
• Centralize information relating to credits in order to facilitate any corresponding adjustment mechanism
• Promote carbon projects, in alignment with the strategic orientations of the Beninese Council of
  Sustainable development.

Its role is to establish the national register of carbon projects and to supervise the registration of these projects, ensuring their compliance with the standards established by the government and international standards.

The Permanent Secretary of the Authority is responsible for receiving applications for registration of carbon projects submitted by project promoters. He proposes to the President of the Authority a program of meetings and sessions. It is also responsible for proposing measures to facilitate the examination and evaluation of registration applications. In addition, the Permanent Secretary contributes to the management of the national register and is responsible for identifying staffing needs, while developing a digital platform dedicated to the registration of projects.

The AEPC meets in ordinary session twice a year, with the possibility of holding extraordinary sessions if necessary. Sessions are convened by the President of the Authority and may take place by videoconference. The members of the Authority receive the notice at least four weeks before the date of the session.

For the Registration Authority to validly deliberate, the presence of five members (the Permanent Secretary, two representatives of the Ministry in charge of Finance and two representatives of the Ministry in charge of Sustainable Development) is required. In the event of absence of a quorum, a new meeting is convened within forty-eight hours and held within the following eight days. In this case, the Authority can validly deliberate if at least three of its members are present or represented. The Registration Authority also has the possibility to seek the advice and assistance of experts to help it with technical aspects related to its activities. Decisions of the Registration Authority are taken by consensus or, in the absence of consensus, by a simple majority of the members present. In the event of a tie, the vote of the president prevails.

Any decision to register or refuse registration by the Authority includes a summary of the documents presented as well as a reasoned decision setting out the reasons why the project is either registered or rejected. Decisions taken by the Authority are communicated to project promoters by the Permanent Secretary within five working days from the session at which the decision was taken.

The Permanent Secretary also informs the General Directorate of Environment and Climate, responsible for the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory System, of any registration of a program or project in the national register of carbon projects. This allows all information relating to projects registered in this system to be integrated.