Tuesday, March 19, 2024
Home > cctne > UNFCCC Partners with the AirCarbon Exchange to Promote Carbon Offsetting

UNFCCC Partners with the AirCarbon Exchange to Promote Carbon Offsetting

UN Climate Change has begun a new partnership with the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), the world’s first fully digital carbon exchange, to promote carbon offsetting via emission reductions certified by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The partnership will allow ACX clients representing 30 different countries to purchase and retire emission credits known as ‘Certified Emission Reductions’ (CERs) for their carbon offsetting purposes. It will be the second exchange in the world, and the first in Asia, to list CERs held in the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) registry, the database that holds and tracks CERs, including their retirement (see below for an explanation of how CERs and the CDM work).

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021, governments agreed guidelines for how the Paris Climate Change Agreement is to be delivered, including on Article 6 that establishes a framework for countries to exchange carbon credits through the United Nations and will give market access to all countries that want to attract green investment through the global carbon market.

James Grabert, Director, Mitigation Division at UNFCCC, said: “This partnership comes at a time of growing commitment to climate action in line with the strong agreements made by countries at the Glasgow climate conference last year. As countries embark on implementing the Paris Agreement carbon markets, this arrangement will enable early movers to reward projects already underway with the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). By offsetting emissions through CDM projects that have ongoing crediting periods, investors can support the successful transition of such projects to the Paris era.”

Through the partnership, ACX will work closely with the UN Climate Change secretariat to raise awareness about carbon offsetting and facilitate the use of CERs in the carbon markets by connecting UN-vetted climate friendly projects in need of revenue with investors seeking quality units to meet their climate action objectives.

Thomas McMahon, CEO and Co-Founder of AirCarbon Exchange, said: “We are honoured to partner with the UNFCCC to promote and facilitate the use of CERs for voluntary offsetting. We look forward to working with the UNFCCC to direct much-needed finance to a wide range of carbon projects under the UN Clean Development Mechanism.”

About CERs and the CDM

Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are units that are issued for greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions from Clean Development Mechanism (or CDM) activities. These are UN-vetted projects, which foster sustainable development in developing countries. The activities take place with the help of climate investments by other Parties, or other entities, or even individuals, who purchase CERs to offset greenhouse gas emissions. The offsetting is made possible through the retirement of CERs, a process that removes the CERs from the market, so that they cannot be traded and used again.

Read original release: https://unfccc.int/news/unfccc-partners-with-the-aircarbon-exchange-to-promote-carbon-offsetting

Image: “Misty Forrest Road” by Jacob Surland Fine Art Photographer is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *