International community adopts rules for new carbon credit system

The United Nations has approved the first set of carbon credits under a new market established by the Paris climate accord. The initiative aims to reduce emissions and support climate goals worldwide. A clean cooking project in Myanmar, which distributes efficient cookstoves, will generate credits that can be offset against excess emissions.

The UN Climate Change agency announced the new mechanism on Thursday, stating that it involves a partnership between the UN and a South Korean company. The project’s goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by providing clean cooking solutions to people in need. According to the World Health Organization, only 78 percent of the population is expected to have access to clean cooking by 2030.

The new mechanism allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations. The UN Climate Change agency said that the credited emissions reductions are 40 percent lower than under a previous scheme, as more conservative calculations are applied under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM).

The first issuance of credits demonstrates that the system is working as intended, according to Jacqui Ruesga, vice chair of the UN body supervising the PACM. The project’s cookstoves burn woody biomass more efficiently, reducing fuel consumption and indoor smoke emissions.

The Paris Agreement, signed in 2015, allows countries to participate in cross-border trade of carbon reductions. New rules agreed at the UN’s COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan in 2024 established the carbon market mechanism. The rules were criticized by some environmental groups for leaving loopholes that could allow fossil fuel companies to continue polluting. However, others saw the agreement as providing clarity on regulating carbon credits.

Source: Al Jazeera