Companies have taken center stage at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) to be held in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh. This Wednesday, the United States announced its new initiative for companies to finance the energy transition in less developed countries through emissions credits.
According to John Kerry, the US special envoy for climate, it is an “important tool” to reduce emissions, which will not complement and replace other methods of climate finance. Furthermore, he pointed out that participating in this energy transition requires private capital that “would cost between $2.5 and 4 billion annually”, as “no government in the world has that much money”.
According to Kerry, companies participating in this initiative will be able to buy carbon credits directly from countries in the global south. In this way, companies will be able to “offset” their greenhouse gas emissions and, in parallel, countries will have “an additional injection of money” to finance their energy transition projects.
However, activists and experts have been skeptical about the emissions market, as these usually involve loopholes or greenwashing that allow companies and countries to continue polluting without penalty.
program guarantee
Skeptical Kerry has said that in its plan it will only allow the use of “high-quality credit” with “high standards” and even indicates that companies using them have Must have a detailed plan backed by science. net zero emissions.
He also pointed out that the initiative would not involve companies related to fossil fuels. That is, oil, coal and gas companies are excluded. However, what has not survived are Pepsi and Microsoft, as they have already joined the scheme, as well as Chile and Nigeria.
The US ambassador points out that “we must not let the mistakes of the past stop us from using a powerful tool to invest private capital where it is most needed.” In addition, he announced that he expects this new emissions market to be up and running ahead of next year’s climate summit, COP28, to be held in November in the United Arab Emirates.
However, environmental organization Greenpeace considers the program “a dangerous distraction and a cover-up for fossil fuel pollution.” @Whole world
