We are concerned to see that the L.6 text leaves open the option of continuing to generate and trade offset credits. If we are going to keep global average temperature increases below 1.5ºC, we need to be achieving the decarbonisation transformation. Written by Katherine Watts, International Climate Policy Advisor at Carbon Market Watch Use of offsets effectively …
Read more “What future for offset credits and carbon markets?”
Paris is hosting the 21st climate summit and the hopes are high that the conference will produce a new climate treaty to help keep global warming to below dangerous levels. The measure of success of the Paris climate treaty hinges on its ability to promote new climate actions while containing the dangers that hot air …
Since carbon markets make it cheaper to reduce emissions, some countries argue that they can take on higher targets if they use carbon markets. But to date this hope has been in vain: carbon markets have not led to higher commitments. On the contrary, mitigation commitments have been woefully inadequate, cap-and-trade systems have been severely oversupplied and offsetting mechanisms have been tarnished by insufficient environmental quality.
Only very few countries have outlined in their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) that they will use international trading as a means to help achieve their climate goals. However, despite the limited role of markets expressed by most industrialised countries in their INDCs, such as the EU and the US, the political reality regarding domestic carbon pricing schemes looks different: jurisdictions responsible for 40% of the global economy have already implemented carbon pricing mechanisms.
24 November, 2015 3-4.30pm CET (Brussels) Description: Despite the domestic mitigation targets expressed by most developed countries in their INDCs, some countries, such as the EU, have expressed interest in using carbon markets under the Paris agreement. This event will discuss the potential role of carbon markets post-2020 and will focus on the impact of …
During the Geneva session of climate negotiations held in February 2015, 18 countries made a joint pledge to extend the integration of human rights in the climate change regime by including human rights expertise in their climate delegations. This initiative offers an opportunity to support the inclusion of references to human rights in the Paris 2015 climate agreement.
The NAMA project in Georgia is a good example of strengthening civil society involvement and embracing a gender sensitive approach to tackle the challenges of rural energy poverty, unsustainable logging and CO2 emissions.
The numerous complaints against this project of one of the biggest private corporate groups of India – Reliance ADAG, include serious human rights violations, forcible displacements, highly inadequate compensations, intimidation by the police to affected communities, disappearance of demonstrating people, shifting injured workers out of the project site, violating contractual obligations to provide jobs and facilities to the displaced, unethical and inhuman labour practices, heavy pollution generated by the project activity, to only name the most severe impacts.
At COP 16, held in Cancún in 2010, it was emphasised that ’Parties should, in all climate change related actions, fully respect human rights‘. However, so far no further guidance has been specified. Our research published in the Cambridge Review of International Affairs shows that the lack of safeguards in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) can lead to registration of projects that have severe impacts on human rights and suggests possible ways forward.
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