COP27 FAQ: Article 6 of the Paris Agreement explained

The rules governing carbon markets agreed at the COP26 in Glasgow need to be translated into functioning and effective mechanisms at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh. This handy Carbon Market Watch guide explains Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, how it works and main the issues at stake.

Carbon Market Watch response to the UN High-level expert group on net zero

Carbon Market Watch welcomes the opportunity to input to the HLEG’s call for public submissions on net-zero commitments of non-State entities. There is currently a proliferation of net-zero claims, as well as other similarly vague claims such as carbon neutral, carbon negative, climate positive, climate neutral, net carbon zero, and so on. Neither policymakers nor …

November editorial: A bad deal or no deal at COP26?

Dear friends, ‘No deal is better than a bad deal’ is the message which underpinned our advocacy for integrity in international carbon markets during the six years since the Paris Agreement brought fresh hope for change.  The sheer weight of self-repetition over such a long time could lead one to chalk up the compromise deal …

COP26: Half-baked carbon market rules fail to take heat off the climate

After over five years of dithering and two weeks of intensive negotiations, the world’s governments settled on slimmed-down ground rules for carbon markets under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6. This deal will provide escape hatches for government and corporations seeking to renege on their climate responsibilities, in particular undermining the urgent emissions cuts needed in …

COP26: The many shades of activism

Emissions offsetting has drawn fresh fire from some activists for its patchy human rights and environmental record. At Carbon Market Watch, we are convinced that emissions trading, like it or not, is here to stay and so we must find a way to make it best serve communities and the climate. On day four of …

October editorial: COP26 and the rise of the climate inactivists

We fight the climate wars no longer only against denialists but also against what climate scientist Michael Mann calls “inactivists”, writes Sabine Frank.  I don’t know at which UN climate conference this trend began, but at COP15 in Copenhagen, the shift was certainly not yet apparent. The recent BBC ‘conspiracy thriller’ The Trick is a  …

COP26: Kyoto-era carbon credits will not repay our debt to the climate

Outdated carbon credits issued under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism must be scrapped for the sake of the climate, argues Gilles Dufrasne. Carbon markets are high on the agenda of this year’s COP26 climate conference as countries meet again to agree on rules governing the Paris Agreement. One of the most contentious negotiation items …