Fate of UN-led carbon market to be decided behind closed doors

(Climate Home News, 1 Oct 2020) A handful of technocrats are considering an extension to a controversial UN-led carbon market, in a move experts warn would undermine the Paris Agreement.

The executive board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could decide by Monday, in a closed-door meeting, whether to keep the market alive beyond 31 December 2020, when its mandate runs out.

Established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, the CDM allowed rich countries to meet some of their climate obligations by funding carbon-cutting projects in the developing world. That protocol has been superseded by the Paris regime, which requires every country to contribute climate targets.

Industry is lobbying the CDM board to keep registering projects and issuing carbon credits until countries strike a deal on new carbon market rules. The earliest that can happen is November 2021, at Cop26 climate talks in Glasgow, UK.

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Climate Home News, 1 Oct 2020: Fate of UN-led carbon market to be decided behind closed doors