CARBON FORWARD 2018: Will international carbon trade thrive under the Paris Agreement?
The world’s biggest carbon offset market is set to sunset in 2020, with governments at odds over how the UN CDM’s thousands of projects and billions of carbon credits should be subsequently treated under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Read MoreFOREST TRENDS: Illegal mining forces suspension of ground-breaking voluntary forest carbon project in Brazil
As the first indigenous-led conservation effort to be financed through the sale of carbon offsets, the Suruà Forest Carbon Project (PCFS in Portuguese) dramatically slowed deforestation and incubated sustainable livelihood programs in Brazil’s Sete de Setembro Indigenous Territory (TISS), but a dramatic surge in illegal mining activities throughout the region in which TISS is located has forced the Paiter-Suruà indigenous people and their partners to suspend the program indefinitely.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Australia is not on track to reach 2030 Paris target (but the potential is there)
While Australia is coming to terms with yet another new prime minister, one thing that hasn’t changed is the emissions data: Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions are not projected to fall any further without new policies, writes Anna Skarbek of ClimateWorks Australia.
Read MoreCOMMENT – Wanted: Team coach for the Green Climate Fund
Reaching agreement on replenishment in the GCF family is easier said than done. Among several hotly debated issues at its last Board meeting was an hours-long discussion of how to launch replenishment — with no resolution. If we want the GCF to succeed, the Board needs to get past the logjam. Here’s WRI’s take on how they could.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Working with the private sector – can the GCF make it work?
It is clear that there needs to be a fundamental overhaul of the governance and decision making processes at the GCF to make its cooperation with the private sector work, writes Alexandra Tracy, a GCF board member representing the private sector.
Read MoreCOMMENT: New CDM issuance rules penalise developers and discriminate against smaller companies
The UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has enjoyed great success in deploying more than $300 billion of investment into clean technology in developing countries around the world. But recent decisions by the UNFCCC risk alienating may of the companies whose activities support this mechanism and discriminate against smaller enterprises.
Read MoreWRI: What’s changing as countries turn INDCs into NDCs? Five early insights
Some countries aren’t waiting until 2020 to make changes to their national climate commitments. As countries ratify the Paris Agreement, some have decided to revise their INDCs and communicate the changes as part of their first NDCs. WRI provides a summary.
Read MoreCOMMENT: Funding for CO2 reductions – Insights from recent projects by Ontario cap-and-trade participants
In the run-up to the 2nd Annual Ontario Cap and Trade Forum on April 18-19 at the Beanfield Centre in Toronto, Canadian Clean Energy Conferences is producing a series of articles featuring the key topics concerning regulated entities under Ontario’s program.
Read MoreCOMMENT: More information on free allowances is vital for Ontario’s cap-and-trade participants
In the run-up to the 2nd Annual Ontario Cap and Trade Forum on April 18-19 at the Beanfield Centre in Toronto, Canadian Clean Energy Conferences is producing a series of articles featuring the key topics concerning regulated entities under Ontario’s program.
Read MoreECOSYSTEM MARKETPLACE: Can the World Bank model show us how to de-risk US environmental markets?
Given the regulatory risk that environmental markets can be altered or ended with the “stroke of a pen” from policy makers, lenders are generally unwilling to value revenue from environmental markets when underwriting projects. With this heavy, or complete, discounting of environmental market revenues, these markets fail to entice the level of investment needed for projects to generate environmental credits and provide verifiable conservation benefits. How can we reduce the risks associated with environmental credits and keep these critically important projects moving forward?
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