Carbon markets crucial for strengthening national climate action plans

_{Guest  speakers following the side event}  

Carbon markets have the potential to unlock vital funding for forest conservation to help meet the Paris Agreement's climate goals but success hinges on their ability to boost transparency and implement meaningful social and environmental inclusion, expert speakers told an event last month. 

The Paris Agreement aims to achieve net zero emissions globally by 2050 through Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and a side event on how carbon markets can strengthen this approach was organized by the UNEP Climate Mitigation Unit at the 11th UNEP CPR Annual Subcommittee (ASC) meeting in Nairobi on 10 July 2024. 

In the opening presentation on the role of carbon markets in raising climate action ambition, Gabriel Labbate, Head UNEP Climate Mitigation Unit, said the volume of carbon market trading was rapidly rising, highlighting their growing importance in climate action and policy.  

 _{Head UNEP Climate Mitigation Unit, Gabriel Labbate giving the opening presentation on the role of carbon markets} 

“Take all the 36 emission trading systems we see all over the world, and you have about 12 gigatons of emissions that are being transacted”, Gabriel added. 

-Gabriel Labbate  |  Head of Climate Mitigation Unit, UNEP

Among those who spoke at the event, held at UNEP headquarters, were Rose Mwebaza, Director and Regional Representative for UNEP’s Africa Office, Mugwe Manga, Special Advisor for Power and Climate at the Rockefeller Foundation and African Carbon Markets Initiative, Amy Merrill, the CEO at the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, Anna Lehman, the CEO at the People Forests Partnership and Dirk Nimitz, Team Lead at The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 

Mwebaza from the Africa Office emphasized the importance of integrity in carbon markets – not over-promising emissions reductions or including safeguards to ensure social inclusion -  if they are to play an important role in helping countries and non-state actors to cost effectively achieve the NDCs and the net zero targets.  

Combined with other policies and measures, carbon markets can increase mitigation, ambition, technology transfer and sustainable development, she added. 

_{Director and Regional Representative for UNEP’s Africa Office Rose Mwebeza giving her remarks}

Meanwhile, Merrill of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market said climate finance through carbon markets remained one of the very few tools available to raise conservation funds, particularly for communities on the ground. 

But without stronger policy on carbon markets, it would become difficult to trade carbon, and that was an area where a lot of African countries needed support - to enact their carbon frameworks and their carbon regulations, said the Rockefeller Foundation’s Manga. 

Closing the session, Adaptation and Resilience Branch Chief Mirey Atallah reiterated the urgent need to close the emission gap both in developed and developing countries, to avoid increased demand of adaptation needs and adaptation impacts.  

 ^{Participants following the side event proceedings}

“Adaptation needs will only keep on increasing if we do not close the mitigation gap. Africa and many developing countries are already extremely vulnerable to climate impacts, and extreme weather events." 

-Mirey Attallah  | Chief, UNEP Adaptation and Resilience Branch

If the appropriate safeguards are in place, carbon markets can accelerate the deployment of, and investment in, renewable energy, low-carbon technology, and nature-based solutions and unlock social and environmental benefits to local communities.

_{Photo credit: © UN-REDD  |  UNEP Africa}