Closing a (violent) chapter: Santa Rita hydro dam project officially cancelled

In October, the private sector lending arm of the World Bank Group (International Finance Corporation, IFC) confirmed the cancellation of a controversial Santa Rita hydroelectric project in Guatemala, approved under the UN’s carbon offsetting scheme Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The announcement follows a report by the IFC Ombudsman which found serious failings in the project …

Carbon market provisions in Paris climate treaty: all cards on the table

The new draft negotiation text still features brackets around all provisions related to carbon markets, showing that Parties have still not found agreement on whether there will be an explicit role for carbon markets in the new Paris agreement. Options under discussions in the next 48+ hours include inter alia the role of carbon trading …

COP21 media briefing: what role for carbon markets?

From 30 November to 11 December 2015, countries are meeting in Paris to flesh out a historic deal against global warming. One open question is the role carbon markets may play in fulfilling the climate pledge. For more background information, see this media briefing. The Carbon Market Watch team is in Paris and closely following …

WATCH THIS! NGO Newsletter #13: A glimpse at the future of carbon markets

Scroll down for French and Spanish As we are approaching the Paris climate negotiations, several major discussion items remain at the centre stage of the discussion, such as how to design the ambition mechanism, how to accelerate finance, and what role will loss & damage play. However, since the latest Bonn negotiations, several proposals regarding …

US and China launch Common Vision for Paris back to back with adoption of new universal Sustainable Development Agenda

25 September 2015. Today, in a significant move, US and China launched a common vision for Paris, including a new climate finance commitment by China of $3.1 billion to the Green Climate Fund. At the same time, the UN adopted a universal Sustainable Development Agenda to address poverty, need for development and environmental protection. The announcement combined with the new goals give new momentum for the Paris climate conference to better integrate sustainable development objectives.

Media Advisory: Announcement of EU climate pledge for UN climate deal may undermine 40% domestic climate target by 5%

The EU is expected to sign-off on its official international climate pledge – the so called Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC), with an announcement on 6 March at the next meeting of the EU’s Environment Ministers. This announcement will make the EU the first region to flesh out its pledge following the Lima UNFCCC meeting. …