Rich countries set to benefit from proposed carbon offsetting mechanism in Paris

Carbon Market Watch criticizes a proposed 'mechanism to support sustainable development' in the Paris climate treaty negotiations, asserting that it allows developed countries to generate and use carbon offsets without restriction. The organization warns that including land use carbon offsets for non-permanent sequestration would create a 'gigatonne loophole' and undermine climate targets. Additionally, the statement notes the removal of a proposed financial levy on carbon prices and highlights a counter-proposal from an alliance of developing countries (LMDC, Arab Group, and ALBA Group) to remove the offsetting mechanism in favor of cooperative approaches for mitigation and adaptation.

• The proposed 'mechanism to support sustainable development' is criticized for allowing developed countries to both use and generate carbon offset credits without limits, which is viewed as creating inequitable competition with project financing in developing nations.
• The introduction of 'long-term' mitigation benefits in the draft text could enable land use carbon offsets for non-permanent sequestration, such as soil carbon or forest management, creating a loophole that undermines climate targets when used against fossil fuel emissions.
• A proposal to implement a financial levy on carbon prices for market mechanisms, such as emissions trading system allowances, was removed from the negotiation text.
• An alliance comprising the Like-Minded Developing Countries (LMDC), the Arab Group, and the ALBA Group submitted a proposal to remove the offsetting mechanism and instead explore cooperative approaches for mitigation and adaptation under the CMA.

APA

Coiley, A. (2015). Rich countries set to benefit from proposed carbon offsetting mechanism in Paris. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/12/10/media-statement-rich-countries-set-to-benefit-from-proposed-carbon-offsetting-mechanism-in-paris/

Chicago

Coiley, Andrew. Rich countries set to benefit from proposed carbon offsetting mechanism in Paris. Carbon Market Watch, 2015. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/12/10/media-statement-rich-countries-set-to-benefit-from-proposed-carbon-offsetting-mechanism-in-paris/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Coiley |first1=Andrew |title=Rich countries set to benefit from proposed carbon offsetting mechanism in Paris |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=10 December 2015 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/12/10/media-statement-rich-countries-set-to-benefit-from-proposed-carbon-offsetting-mechanism-in-paris/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{coiley2015rich, author = {Coiley, Andrew}, title = {{Rich countries set to benefit from proposed carbon offsetting mechanism in Paris}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2015}, month = dec, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2015/12/10/media-statement-rich-countries-set-to-benefit-from-proposed-carbon-offsetting-mechanism-in-paris/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }