The COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan, kicked off with a significant early breakthrough as countries endorsed carbon credit quality standards critical to launching a UN-backed global carbon market aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
On Monday, delegates from various nations agreed on the standards after two weeks of negotiations, paving the way for the market to potentially start as soon as next year. This global carbon market would fund projects that reduce or remove carbon dioxide emissions, offering a promising avenue for countries and companies to offset their own emissions.
Examples of such projects include cultivating CO2-absorbing mangroves and distributing clean stoves to replace polluting cooking methods in rural communities. Juan Carlos Arredondo Brun, a former climate negotiator for Mexico who now works with carbon market data company Abatable, stated that this endorsement “will bring us closer to operationalizing the carbon market before any single party may decide to move away from the Paris Agreement.”
The development comes at a critical time, as U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has expressed intentions to pull the United States out of the global Paris climate agreement, which underpins the planned UN-backed carbon market. Despite this potential setback, the global carbon market could offer U.S. companies a pathway to participate in international climate efforts by purchasing credits to meet voluntary climate targets.
However, not all stakeholders are fully satisfied with the new standards. Some campaigners argue that the standards fall short in protecting the human rights of communities affected by these projects. Rebecca Iwerks, co-director at non-profit group Namati, cautioned, “It could actually hinder the development of the market if you don’t have a strong standard.”
Additionally, there was criticism over the process by which the deal was reached. Some negotiators felt that the small group of technical experts who agreed on the standards did so without adequate input from all countries. Kevin Conrad, executive director for the Coalition for Rainforest Nations and former climate envoy for Papua New Guinea, said, “We endorse what they have done, not the way they have done it.”
As the COP29 summit continues, countries aim to finalize further rules to ensure a robust and effective global carbon market. The International Emissions Trading Association predicts that by 2030, trading in the UN-backed market could generate $250 billion annually and cut 5 billion metric tons of carbon emissions each year.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
