At COP29, countries adopt rules for the carbon credit market

This agreement will “pave the way” for a more established carbon market, intended to exchange quality carbon credits, with standards supported by the United Nations, welcomed Erika Lennon, an expert on the subject at the Center for International Law of the environment.

Countries around the world adopted new UN rules for the controversial carbon credit market on Monday, November 11, on the first day of COP29. These are generated by activities that reduce greenhouse gas emissions responsible for global warming, such as planting trees, protecting habitats or replacing polluting coal with solar or wind turbines. One credit is equivalent to one ton of carbon dioxide prevented from entering or removed from the atmosphere.

Until now this market had developed alone, outside of all international rules. The criteria adopted in Baku, Azerbaijan, govern the methodology for calculating how many credits a given project can generate, and what happens if the stored carbon is lost, for example if the affected forest burns. The proposed standards mainly concern countries – especially wealthy polluters – that seek to offset their emissions by purchasing credits from nations that have reduced greenhouse gases beyond what they had promised.

“It’s extremely important”reacted Erika Lennon, an expert on the subject at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), because this will “open the way” to a more established carbon market, intended to exchange quality carbon credits, with standards supported by the United Nations. But, like several NGOs, she is critical of the method she considers not very transparent by which the texts were pushed to the UN climate conference. For its part, the NGO Oil Change International criticized a decision taken “without debate or public scrutiny.”