Despite the role voluntary carbon markets are meant to play in financing climate action, the exact amount of money reaching climate projects and local communities is shrouded in mystery, while nine out of 10 intermediaries do not disclose their fees or profit margins, a new study commissioned by Carbon Market Watch reveals.
Voluntary carbon market standards promising tonne-for-tonne compensation and exact measurement of impact are attempting to square the circle, argues Gilles Dufrasne. One solution is to drop offsetting claims and offer credits as financial contributions to climate action. Last week marked the closing of the public consultation on quality criteria for carbon credits by a new …
The 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar has advertised itself as a carbon-neutral tournament. However, a thorough Carbon Market Watch analysis reveals that this claim lacks credibility due to the apparent large-scale underestimation of the event’s emissions and the low quality of the carbon credits currently purchased to offset the climate impact. FIFA, football’s international …
Read more “FIFA 2022 World Cup’s “carbon neutral” claim is far-fetched and spurious”
The proliferation of dubious green claims by companies has sparked renewed concern about the lack of adequate regulation to prevent greenwashing and the low compliance with existing rules. Regulators are starting to revise outdated provisions, while NGOs are suing companies over misleading advertisements. The European Commission published yesterday (30 March 2022) a new proposal to …
The rules governing carbon markets agreed at the COP26 in Glasgow have sparked significant interest and confusion. If you are among the perplexed, this handy Carbon Market Watch guide provides answers to frequently asked questions about Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. What is Article 6? What is the difference between the Article 6.2 and …
Read more “FAQ: Deciphering Article 6 of the Paris Agreement”
Outdated carbon credits issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism must be scrapped for the sake of the climate, argues Gilles Dufrasne. Carbon markets are high on the agenda of this year’s COP26 climate conference as countries meet again to agree on rules governing the Paris Agreement. One of the most contentious negotiation items …
Read more “COP26: Kyoto-era carbon credits will not repay our debt to the climate”
Carbon markets are high on the agenda at the UN’s COP26 climate change conference. Carbon Market Watch’s Gilles Dufrasne has prepared this handy guide to explain the issues at stake related to Article 6. The next UN climate change conference (COP26) kicks off this weekend. One of the key items up for negotiation is the …
Read more “COP26: Five reasons why carbon markets (Article 6) matter”
BRUSSELS, 30 June – A new investigation by Carbon Market Watch and the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (CLIP) finds that project developers exploit carbon market rules in Colombia to create more credits than the amount of emission reductions that the projects are achieving. These credits are then used by fossil fuel companies under …
Read more “Colombian fossil fuel companies abuse forestry offsets to avoid taxes – report “
Science and respect for human rights must be at the heart of any future rulebook After 3 weeks of technical discussions between country negotiators, little progress has been made to approach agreement on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement pertaining to carbon markets. Countries have even reinforced their stance on certain long-held positions, which in …
Going beyond zero-sum game offsetting to deliver real benefits For Carbon Market Watch’s overall perspective on Article 6, see here. CMW has also been publishing a series of technical submissions, responding to a call for input from the UNFCCC: April, May, June. The Paris Agreement Article 6 must go beyond the zero-sum logic of offsetting …
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