Will International Carbon Markets Finally Deliver?
- Media Manager
- Dec 14, 2023
- 1 min read
IISD - International Institute for Sustainable Development
Written By: Scott Vaughan, Charles Di Leva
Published: December 14th, 2023
The Paris Agreement’s rules and processes for a public international carbon market, Article 6, were approved at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference (COP 26) 2 years ago. But since then, few government-to-government deals have been sealed. Meanwhile, media have exposed alarming deficiencies in the flailing voluntary private carbon markets while companies are increasingly facing legal challenges for their offset claims. Can Article 6 help the public carbon market to finally deliver for climate and nature?
Article 6 of the 2015 Paris Agreement details how countries can cooperate to achieve their greenhouse gas emission reduction targets, as set out in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
While the majority of climate mitigation action is expected to take place within countries’ jurisdictions, Article 6 recognizes that these efforts can be effectively complemented through cooperation among governments and others to cut emissions and support credible carbon offset projects.
After years of negotiations, at the 2021 COP 26 in Glasgow, the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to a detailed set of rules for these carbon credit transfers, essentially creating a fledgling international public carbon market.
