Negotiators at the ongoing U.N. climate talks in Baku, Azerbaijan, have adopted a controversial provision on carbon trading that critics say will enable rich countries and companies to simply pay to continue emitting.
The adoption of Article 6 from the Paris Agreement will outline ways that countries and companies can trade emissions on a carbon market, which the World Bank Group, responsible for delivering climate finance to developing countries, calls a “game changer.” The U.N. Trade and Development agency similarly describes the carbon market as a “powerful tool.”
However, many civil society organizations are strongly opposed to carbon markets, citing concerns that communities in areas where carbon credits are generated to “offset” the carbon emitted elsewhere are often not consulted on carbon projects and rarely benefit.
“We don’t want carbon credits at all because they do not help the community or the women of Asia Pacific,” Ranjana Giri, a young climate advocate from Nepal, told Mongabay at the Baku summit, COP29. Giri represents the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, a leading network of feminist organizations and individual activists in the Asia-Pacific region.
Giri said carbon markets don’t benefit women or local communities because the profits mainly go to agribusiness companies and their executives.
Carolina Mutari, a youth activist from Kenya, also slammed the concept.
“I totally disagree with carbon markets. They are false solutions right from the start,” Mutari, attending COP29 as a representative of a group of young people from across Africa, told Mongabay.
“The reason I oppose them is that the Global North is shifting the responsibility of climate mitigation onto the most affected communities in the Global South. Essentially, this lacks any form of climate justice and undermines the principles of climate justice — such as the right to development and equity.”
A metric ton of carbon may cost $3 to $10 in the African market, and can sell for $100 to $200 in Europe.
Financing the fight against climate change has long been a sticking point at the annual U.N. climate meetings, and is a special focus at the current COP. The adoption of Article 6 was one of the top priorities of the meeting, though many parties said they felt the process was rushed. Nonetheless, it’s emerged as one of the most critical outcomes of COP29 so far and will help clear the way for carbon trading to begin in earnest.
COP29 lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev, who is also Azerbaijan’s deputy foreign minister, hailed the development as “a game-changing tool to direct resources to the developing world and help us save up to 250 billion dollars a year when implementing our climate plans.”
Giri disagreed, saying, “We feel very disappointed, very sad, and we believe our future is in danger.”
Banner image: Ranjana Giri and fellow youth climate activists at COP29, courtesy of Liani MK.
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