One of the most anticipated items on COP27‘s agenda this year is Article 6, or nine paragraphs describing how – and under what circumstances – the voluntary carbon market can be used for emissions trading. At COP26 in Glasgow, a set of rules governing carbon markets was agreed on after years of negotiations. This year is about setting out the mechanisms to implement those rules.
Khaled Diab, communications director at the Brussels-based NGO Carbon Market Watch, lays out the main sticking points that are delaying progress in negotiations on Article 6 at COP27.
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For Article 6.2, some countries are asking for a non-standardised reporting mechanism for emissions trading, a move which, if implemented, would “open a door to a lack of transparency and [risk] that governments will not be held fully to account”, says Diab.
Article 6.4 is controversial for its “rushed definition of what carbon removal is”, he adds. Ambiguous definitions risk including projects that do not legitimately and permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere. Diab cites forestry projects as a particular challenge. “What happens if there are reversals? Who is liable?” For example, carbon credits were sold for Californian forests that subsequently burned down during the summer heat waves.
See Also:
Climate action beyond carbon markets at COP27:
Reporter Nour Ghantous and senior writer Dave Keating are reporting from COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, on behalf of Energy Monitor and our parent company, GlobalData. They are providing the data-led analysis you have come to expect from Energy Monitor but also something new: video interviews with business leaders, policymakers and campaigners. We encourage you to return often to our Energy Monitor home page for updates from the conference. You can also sign up for our free biweekly newsletter here.
Other recent COP27 coverage includes:
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