Paris, 4 December 2015. The Kyoto Protocol is currently suffering from an 11 gigatonne hot air loopholes that undermines its environmental effectiveness. In this context, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom today announced that they will cancel part of their pre-2020 surplus units (AAUs) under the Kyoto Protocol.
Paris, 2 December. Today, Carbon Market Watch and Pixel Impact launch the new COP21 video game CAPMAN. The interactive video game about the superhero CAPMAN, the heroic embodiment of real climate action, is promoting actions that limit CO2 emissions and cap global warming at 1.5C. The game is accessible at www.cap-man.net and will be launched at 7pm CET at the EU Pavilion in the COP21 venue.
From 30 November to 11 December 2015, countries are meeting in Paris to flesh out a historic deal against global warming. One open question is the role carbon markets may play in fulfilling the climate pledge. For more background information, see this media briefing. The Carbon Market Watch team is in Paris and closely following…
Brussels, 12 October. Following numerous incidents of human rights violations related to carbon offsetting projects, the UN’s Board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) will, for the first time, discuss options to address these concerns at its 86th meeting starting today. The Board will also discuss recommendations to overhaul the CDM’s local stakeholder consultation rules, including a requirement that projects must repeat consultations if they have not been carried out in line with national laws. In an open letter, 96 groups from 35 countries have highlighted their support for these changes.
25 September 2015. Today, in a significant move, US and China launched a common vision for Paris, including a new climate finance commitment by China of $3.1 billion to the Green Climate Fund. At the same time, the UN adopted a universal Sustainable Development Agenda to address poverty, need for development and environmental protection. The announcement combined with the new goals give new momentum for the Paris climate conference to better integrate sustainable development objectives.
Brussels, 22 September 2015. Today, at the climate week in New York, the UN launched the “Climate Credit Store”- a new online platform to purchase carbon offsets generated by its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The initiative attempts to boost demand for CDM credits on the voluntary carbon market and for the aviation sector but fails to dodge the sale of bogus carbon offsets.
Brussels, 18 September 2015. Today, EU Ministers signed off their official position for the Paris climate negotiations but failed to agree on a common timeframe for all countries to increase their mitigation ambition, and robust criteria to regulate the use of carbon markets. On the positive side, Ministers emphasized the need to address emissions from international aviation and shipping, and endorsed the need to protect human rights.
Brussels, 24 August. A new study by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) finds that bogus carbon offsets issued under the Kyoto Protocols’ Joint Implementation (JI) offsetting mechanism to date have increased global emissions by 600 million tonnes CO2 to date. The study come timely as countries gear up for the next round of UN talks next week in Germany; they will need to work to ensure the new Paris climate treaty is not undermined, as Kyoto was, by hot air carbon credits.
Kiad, Panama/Amsterdam/Bogota – Last Friday, a long-awaited report by an independent panel found that FMO and DEG, the Dutch and German development banks, violated their own policies by failing to adequately assess the risks to indigenous rights and the environment before approving a US$50 million loan to GENISA, the developer of the Barro Blanco hydroelectric project in Panama. FMO and DEG’s response to the findings, while acknowledging some deficiencies in their assessment, does not commit to any measures to address the outstanding policy violations. Even while the report concludes that “the lenders have not taken the resistance of the affected communities seriously enough,” it appears that FMO and DEG continue to do so.
Ciudad de Panamá, Panamá y Ginebra, Suiza. En una decisión histórica, la Autoridad Nacional del Ambiente (ANAM) de Panamá ordenó ayer la suspensión temporal de la construcción del proyecto hidroeléctrico Barro Blanco debido al incumplimiento con su Evaluación de Impacto Ambiental. La represa fue registrada bajo el Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio (MDL) de la ONU pese a que amenaza con inundar el territorio de las comunidades Ngäbe Buglé.
Kaisa Amaral, Communications Director
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