China, Turkiye, host of the ongoing COP31 United Nations climate conference, and Ethiopia, host of COP32, jointly launched an initiative on strengthening international cooperation on high-quality carbon crediting markets at a high-level event at the China Pavilion during COP31 on Wednesday.
The initiative aims to promote international cooperation in developing high-integrity carbon crediting markets and improve the supply and circulation of high-quality carbon credits.
Addressing the event, Li Gao, vice-minister of ecology and environment and head of the Chinese delegation to COP31, said China is accelerating the development of its national carbon market in response to the central leadership's call to build "a more effective, dynamic and internationally influential carbon market", and has made new progress.
As the implementation rules for the market mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement are gradually put into practice, international demand for high-quality carbon credits continues to grow, Li said.
Strengthening international cooperation can boost the effective supply of high-quality carbon credits, meet market demand and improve the efficiency of carbon-credit circulation, enabling such credits to better support global climate governance and the green, low-carbon transition, he said.
The initiative calls on governments and relevant intergovernmental organizations to take the lead in improving governance systems for high-integrity carbon credits. It also urges carbon-crediting mechanisms and market participants to strengthen dialogue and cooperation, encourages stakeholders to use carbon credits responsibly, and calls for deeper international cooperation in capacity-building, information sharing and the interconnection of carbon-market infrastructure.
The initiative will establish an open and inclusive platform for policy dialogue, information sharing, capacity-building and project cooperation. Participation will be voluntary, and the framework will be legally non-binding. It does not itself authorize cross-border transfers under Article 6 or require participants to mutually recognize carbon credits, link markets or registries, share data or make financial contributions.
COP31, officially known as the 31st session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, opened on Monday and will run through Nov 20.
