This is a file that, under its very technical aspects, its hermetic acronyms and its accounting subtleties, masks important political and climate issues. After nine years of negotiations, on the 29thmy The United Nations climate conference (COP29) adopted, on Saturday, November 23 in Baku (Azerbaijan), the rules governing carbon markets, that is, the exchange of CO emissions2 between countries and companies. But opinions differ greatly on the quality of this regulation, which is supposed to allow compliance with the Paris agreement, and its objective of avoiding dangerous global warming.
“It is a historic agreement, a good compromise and a very good signal for international cooperation”welcomes Luca Lo Re, carbon markets analyst at the International Energy Agency. The qualifier of“historical” It is also taken up by a diplomatic source. On the contrary, the NGO Carbon Market Watch fears that these regulations “about” end “undermining efforts to reduce emissions rather than promoting them”. “Paying to pollute will never be a solution but rather a climate disaster”judge Erika Lennon, of the Center for International Environmental Law organization.
This file, which all parties call “Article 6” in reference to Article 6 of the 2015 Paris agreement regulating carbon markets under the auspices of the United Nations, was the only part of the international treaty whose rules had not yet been finalized. finalized They were partially stopped in 2021, but numerous COP blockades persisted after COP, so that this controversial issue became a sea snake of the climate negotiations.
The objective of Article 6 is to authorize cooperation between States, but also with companies, to allow them to achieve their climate objectives and increase them. Basically, polluting countries and companies can offset part of their emissions by purchasing carbon credits from countries that have been more ambitious than their national goals. These fees are generated through activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, such as tree planting projects or replacing polluting energy (such as coal) with wind turbines and solar panels. Each credit is equivalent to one ton of CO2 prevent their entry or elimination from the atmosphere.
You have 68.64% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
