Special Report Paris Agreement
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t the 2015 United Nations’ climate negotiations in Paris (COP21), countries across the globe pledged to keep global temperature rise below 1.5°C. But current policy is set to heat the planet by more than 3°C. To help close this gap between promises and reality, Article 6 of the Paris Agreement – the piece of legislation responsible for setting up the mechanisms for a worldwide carbon emissions trading system – was to be finalised at the end of last year in Madrid, at COP25. The aim of Article 6 is to create an emissions accounting system that is ‘so transparent that anyone can look at it and see what deals are being done,’ says Clare Shakya, Director of Climate Change Research at the International Institute for Environment and
Development (IIED). However, even after extra days of negotiations, COP25 finished with Article 6 unresolved.
could be reinvested in additional climate action. Every year that an emissions trading system is undecided, billions of dollars are potentially lost.
Cost of indecision The negotiations ‘can get really complicated – there is a lot on the table, lots of issues and different opinions,’ says Stefano de Clara, Director of International Policy at the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and one of the authors of the carbon pricing report, The Economic Potential of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and Implementation Challenges. The report found that international cooperation on decarbonisation could not only cut an additional 5bn tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually by 2030, but also deliver savings of US$250bn every year by 2030, increasing to almost a trillion in 2100. This
Sticking points The negotiations on these savings came to a halt as influential nations such as China, the US, India, Brazil and Australia drew impassable red lines. The three major stumbling blocks in negotiations were ‘double counting’, the transition of ‘old’ carbon emission reductions, and the inclusion of a mechanism to create an international fund for climate change mitigation and adaption. ‘Double counting’ is when governments count reduced emissions, but any private companies or agencies that may have assisted the government can also lay claim
What is Article 6 and why is it important? Article 6 offers a path to significantly raising climate ambition or lowering costs, while engaging the private sector and spreading finance, technology and expertise into new areas, writes Lucy Woods
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