The countries adopted this Monday, on the first day of the climate summit, COP29, the new UN rules for Controversial carbon credit market.a fundamental step to help countries meet their climate obligations.
“It’s extremely important” because it will “pave the way” for a more established carbon market designed to trade quality carbon credits, with standards backed by the United Nations, said Erika Lennon, an expert on the subject at the Center for International Environmental Law. . (CIEL), cited by the AFP news agency.
However, Erika Lennon criticized it, as did several non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which she considers the lack of transparency with which the texts were approved at the UN climate conference in Baku, which began this Monday in Azerbaijan and will end on the 22nd.
Other official texts will still have to be prepared to establish a reliable market, but today’s decision will launch a mechanism that has been expected since the 2015 Paris Agreement (and its article 6).
Carbon credits are generated by activities. that reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warmingsuch as planting trees, protecting habitats or replacing polluting coal with solar or wind energy.
One credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide prevented from entering or being removed from the atmosphere.
The criteria adopted in Baku regulate the methodology for calculating the number of credits what a given project can generate and what happens if the stored carbon is lost, for example, if the forest in question is burned.
The proposed rules primarily concern countries – especially wealthy polluters – seeking to offset their emissions by purchasing credits from nations that have reduced greenhouse gases beyond what they had promised.
Ultimately, this will allow Countries use carbon credits acquired from others. reduce their greenhouse gas emissions only on paper.
Until now this market has developed on its own, outside any international standardand has been used mainly by companies that intend “compensate” their emissions and demand carbon neutrality.
But several studies have shown the ineffectiveness of many projects, certified by lax private organizations, sometimes to the detriment of local populations.
The first day of the summit was also marked for the promise from the representative of the United States, John Podesta, that climate action will continue in the country. Following Donald Trump’s election victory last week, the United States is expected to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, as occurred during Donald Trump’s first presidency.
One of the main issues of COP29, marked by the absence of the main world leaders, is to set the amount of climate aid from developed countries to developing countries, so that they can develop without oil or coal and can face the effects of climate change. , such as droughts and floods.
Currently, future climate aid amounts to $116 billion per year (in 2022). must be multiplied by more than tenaccording to poor countries.
The president of COP29, Moukhtar Babaïev, mentioned this Monday “hundreds of billions” in his opening speech.
The first day was also marked by hours of delays due to to the divergences between blocks of countries and behind-the-scenes fights over the agenda.
Source: Observadora
