COMMENT: Taxing carbon at the EU border? Only if free pollution permits go
As part of her “European Green Deal”, incoming EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has promised to introduce a carbon border tax to “ensure that European companies can compete on a level playing field”. This is a new wind coming from the executive branch of the European Union and it remains uncertain how von der Leyen plans to turn the idea of a carbon border tax into practice.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Carbon markets in Pakistan – Can the myth be turned into a reality?
A carbon pricing instrument could support Pakistan reducing its greenhouse gas emissions and set the country into a lower-emissions pathway. However, carbon pricing cannot be seen in isolation, as an end in itself, and therefore it is important to ensure such approach is aligned with national priorities and that it can support and reinforce other existing policies, UNFCCC carbon pricing consultant Syeda Hadika Jamshaid argues in this op-ed.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Understanding Elizabeth Warren’s Climate Change Risk Disclosure Act
The Green New Deal has been the focal point of the climate debate among the Democratic presidential candidates. Less publicized is the Climate Risk Disclosure Act, a proposal from Senator and presidential contender Elizabeth Warren, that seeks to frame climate change as a threat to the public markets.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE – Shades of REDD+: Can Oil and Aviation Fuel a Marshall Plan for Forests?
Deforestation is increasing around the world, and we need a Marshall Plan for Forests. But who will fund it? In this installment of the series “Shades of REDD+”, we look at two sectors that may soon comprise the largest source of demand for forest carbon credits. Both can be part of the solution, but only if key criteria are met.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE – Shades of REDD+: A Marshall Plan for Tropical Forests?
Farming and forestry account for nearly a quarter of all the greenhouse gas emissions generated by man, and deforestation of tropical forests accounts for half of this. To end deforestation, we must find solutions to make conservation of forests financially viable, and REDD+ is a key part of that.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE – Shades of REDD+: New Series to Explore History and Future of Forest Finance
Deforestation is a classic “wicked problem” with no easy solutions. REDD+ has been conceived to be the master of this problem. In this new series, we’ll look whether REDD+ has delivered on the early hopes, how it is implemented in countries, what works, what doesn’t – and of course, how it could still become a story of success.
Read MoreCOMMENT: ProPublica’s Inexcusable REDD+ Belly Flop
Mainstream media outlets have been congratulating themselves of late for becoming just 20 years too late on climate change, and now the same institutions that have consistently failed to cover the enormity of the challenge are failing to cover the myriad interlocking solutions. This week, ProPublica became the latest outlet to blow it
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Brazil slashed GHG emissions 70% before Bolsonaro, and nobody noticed
Last week, Brazil’s top security adviser said that the Amazon forest was his country’s to exploit, regardless of the impact on greenhouse gas emissions. “I don’t accept this idea that the Amazon is world heritage, this is nonsense,” General Augusto Heleno Pereira said. “The Amazon is Brazilian, the heritage of Brazil and should be dealt with by Brazil for the benefit of Brazil.”
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: How carbon markets can boost biodiversity and slow climate change
We must take advantage of natural climate solutions if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change. Yet setbacks – such as an incomplete Paris Rulebook – have raised concerns amongst stakeholders, worried that without UN guidance on carbon markets, they cannot confidently scale up the required policies and programs. The Nature Conservancy has released a new guide that highlights why many are already taking action to make use of markets in funding NCS, and how businesses can thoughtfully take similar steps today amidst a developing regulatory landscape.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: With infrastructure reform, US can build world’s biggest, greenest carbon sink
In the middle of last month, US Senator (and New Green Deal co-sponsor) Ed Markey (D-Mass) said his party would make sure that any overhaul of the country’s infrastructure was done with clean energy. These “green infrastructure” projects don’t just keep greenhouse gas emissions down though; they generate environmental benefits. Some of them can even become carbon negative, meaning they can absorb more GHGs than they emit.
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