BY ALEX ADI
More than 100 countries have reached a landmark agreement on rules for a UN-backed international carbon market. It enables nations to trade high-quality carbon credits to meet climate targets. This breakthrough was announced by Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change, at a news conference in Baku.
Carbon credits are generated by activities that reduce or avoid planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions. These include planting trees, protecting carbon sinks, or replacing polluting coal with clean-energy alternatives. Major players in the sector, say One credit equals a tonne of prevented or removed heat-trapping carbon dioxide. Since the Paris climate agreement in 2015, the UN has been crafting rules to allow countries and businesses to exchange credits in a transparent and credible market. The benchmarks adopted in Baku will allow for the development of rules, including calculating how many credits a given project can receive.
A carbon market would allow countries, mainly wealthy polluters or heavy emitters, to offset emissions by purchasing credits from nations that have cut greenhouse gases above what they promised. Purchasing countries could then put carbon credits toward achieving the climate goals promised in their national plans.
At a news conference at COP29 on Wednesday, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell shared some details on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
“There’s more work to do, but this is a good start—the product of over 10 years of work within the process. When operational, these carbon markets will help countries implement their climate plans faster and cheaper, driving down emissions.”
The Chief Investment Officer for Jospong Group of companies, Mr. Noah Gyimah, signed the first agreement on carbon credits with four of its recycling plants, with close to 1.5 million tonnes of waste to be remediated during the COP28 summit in Dubai last year.
“If you are able to transport your waste and aggregate them at a shorter distance, then you have the opportunity to remove some CO2 emissions.”
Ghana’s agenda is to cut emissions by 64 million metric Tonnes by 2030.
