COP26 carbon-market talks 'difficult'—but hopes for breakthrough, says Norway minister

(Eco Business, 8 Nov 2021) Setting rules for carbon markets—a major goal of the COP26 climate change talks—is challenging but "nobody wants to be the villain", says Norway's climate minister.

Negotiations on rules for global carbon markets at the COP26 UN climate talks in Scotland are tough, but there are hopes of a breakthrough after years of deadlock, the Norwegian minister trying to broker a deal said on Sunday.

Carbon trading regulations have been elusive and were omitted from a “rulebook” agreed in 2018 for the Paris climate accord, the landmark 2015 deal among almost 200 nations to limit global warming.

Norway and Singapore are now leading efforts for a deal on carbon markets in Glasgow.

“It’s difficult,” Norwegian Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide told the Thomson Reuters Foundation on the sidelines of COP26, noting past failures to agree on rules to govern the vaguely worded Article 6.

Still, he noted, there is “a can-do mood”.

“Nobody wants to be the villain in Glasgow so far,” he added.

The two-week talks, seeking to advance progress under the Paris deal, are due to end on Friday - and Article 6 is one of several flashpoints.

Note: You need to log in (free of charge) to the Eco Business website to get access of the whole article.

External link

Eco Business, 8 Nov 2021: COP26 carbon-market talks 'difficult'—but hopes for breakthrough, says Norway minister