COP29 Agrees International Carbon Market Standards

Author： Hits：10 Date：2024-11-12 source：

On November 11, the 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) opened in Baku, Azerbaijan. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement facilitates global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. It offers two options for countries and companies to trade carbon credits, supporting the achievement of greenhouse gas reduction targets set in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The first option allows two countries to define the terms of a bilateral carbon trading agreement under Article 6.2. The second option seeks to create a central carbon credit system managed by the UN, enabling countries and companies to offset emissions and trade credits, as specified in Article 6.4.

At COP28 in Dubai last year, negotiations regarding emissions trading under Article 6.4 collapsed. However, on the first day of COP29, parties reached a consensus on the standards for Article 6.4 and the dynamic mechanisms for updating these standards, marking the official establishment of the global carbon market. COP29 Chief Negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev highlighted in a press release: "This will be a game-changing tool, directing resources to developing countries and helping us save up to $250 billion annually in implementing climate plans."