UN approves first carbon credits under Paris Agreement

"The UN-run market, established under the Paris climate accord, allows companies and countries to offset their excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases in other nations. Critics fear that if set up poorly, such schemes can undermine the world's efforts to curb global warming by allowing countries or companies to greenwash -- or overstate -- their emissions reductions."

"The UN climate agency said the credited emissions reductions are 40 percent lower than under a previous scheme as more conservative calculations are applied under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM). 'Our focus is on building confidence in this market from the outset, and this first issuance shows that the system is working as intended,' Jacqui Ruesga, vice chair of the UN body supervising the PACM, said in a statement."

"More than two billion people around the world cook using open fires or inefficient stoves fuelled by kerosene, coal or biomass such as wood, crop waste or dung, according to the World Health Organization. The resulting air pollution kills millions of people each year. The stoves in the Myanmar project burn woody biomass more efficiently, meaning it needs less fuel and spews far less smoke inside the home."

The UN established a carbon market under the Paris climate accord enabling companies and countries to offset emissions by financing greenhouse gas reduction projects globally. Critics worry poorly designed schemes could enable greenwashing and undermine climate efforts. The first credits issued involve a Myanmar project distributing efficient wood-burning cookstoves that reduce household air pollution and forest pressure, implemented with a South Korean company. The new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism applies 40 percent more conservative calculations than previous schemes. Over two billion people worldwide cook using inefficient stoves causing severe air pollution and millions of deaths annually. The initiative addresses clean cooking access while protecting health, saving forests, cutting emissions, and empowering women disproportionately affected by household air pollution.

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