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Carbon Market Watch argues that the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) must transition from a zero-sum offsetting system to a results-based climate finance scheme to maintain environmental integrity and social safeguards. The organization also warns that the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) could increase global emissions if double counting of reductions is not prevented through transparent monitoring and a common accounting system.

The document argues for the phase-out of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in favor of a results-based Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) that prioritizes climate finance over offsetting. It emphasizes the need for mandatory local stakeholder consultations and recourse mechanisms to prevent human rights violations. Additionally, it warns that the ICAO's CORSIA scheme for aviation emissions risks undermining the Paris Agreement if double-counting of emission reductions occurs.

The document advocates for a pollution price for shipping to complement the International Maritime Organisation's (IMO) goal of cutting emissions by 50% below 2008 levels by 2050. It highlights that shipping accounts for over 2% of global emissions and suggests that carbon pricing would incentivise the use of renewable fuels, incorporate environmental costs into shipowners' decisions, and generate revenue to support least developed and developing countries.

The document argues that the EU must stop blocking progress on a conflict of interest policy at the UNFCCC to prevent fossil fuel companies and their lobby groups from undermining the ambition of the Paris Agreement.

Carbon Market Watch analyzes Sweden's aviation ticket tax, noting that while the industry opposes it, the tax is too low to reverse the rising trend of aviation emissions. The author argues that a significantly higher carbon price is necessary to either reduce flight demand or incentivize the development of electric aircraft technology.

The aviation sector is a top-ten global emitter that could emit 56 GtCO2 between 2016 and 2050, representing one-quarter of the remaining carbon budget. While CO2 emissions account for 2.1% of the global share, the inclusion of non-CO2 effects increases aviation's contribution to global warming to an estimated 4.9%. The document asserts that current government policy measures are "woefully insufficient" and calls for bold government action to establish long-term decarbonization pathways. A proposed roadmap includes deploying near-term technology, investing in breakthrough clean aviation technologies, strengthening the ICAO CO2 standard, revisiting subsidies, and supporting modal shifts through new mobility solutions.

Carbon Market Watch advocates for the application of the polluter-pays principle through robust carbon pricing that avoids free permits, offsets, and fossil fuel subsidies. The organization proposes using carbon pricing revenues to support the most vulnerable communities, ensuring a fair distribution of mitigation costs.

A coalition of business associations, civil society, and think tanks calls on the EU to increase climate-related spending beyond 20% of its post-2020 budget and to 'climate proof' all spending by ending investments in unabated fossil fuel infrastructure and harmful subsidies.

This practitioner's guide outlines a nine-step process for conducting local stakeholder consultations in climate mitigation projects. It emphasizes the necessity of meaningful public participation to avoid adverse impacts such as population displacement or resource privatization. The guide integrates international standards, including the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples, and provides checklists to validate that consultations are inclusive, transparent, and proportional to the project's impact.

The document outlines a nine-step process for stakeholder consultation in climate mitigation actions, emphasizing the need to move beyond 'top-down' approaches to avoid adverse impacts like population displacement. It integrates international standards, including the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for indigenous peoples, and provides checklists for project developers to verify that consultations are inclusive, transparent, and accountable. The guide is designed for policy-makers, investors, and developers, drawing on lessons from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

The document outlines a nine-step process for conducting effective stakeholder consultations for climate mitigation actions, emphasizing the protection of human rights and the necessity of free, prior, and informed consent for indigenous peoples. It provides a checklist for project promoters to ensure transparency, inclusivity, and accountability throughout the project lifecycle.

Carbon Market Watch alerts international partners to the DRC's plans to lift the moratorium on new logging concessions and secretly revise its Forest Code. The organization argues these moves, including the awarding of three concessions covering 6,500 square kilometres, threaten environmental and climatic stability, specifically peatswamps, and undermine international initiatives like CAFI and REDD+. It calls for the immediate suspension of forestry funding until a transparent process is established.

The European manufacturing sector has seen minimal emission reductions, with industrial emissions in the EU falling by only 0.2% in 2016 and 1% since 2012. The author contends that the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) fails to incentivise low-carbon transformation because it allows industries to profit from the system rather than pricing pollution effectively. This environment protects incumbents and hinders innovators, such as low-carbon cement producer Ecocem, whose solutions can reduce the carbon footprint of concrete by over 50%. To achieve the Paris Agreement goals, the document calls for a Low-Carbon Industrial Strategy to scale demand for low-carbon products and remove market barriers. It suggests specific technological shifts: using recycled scrap in electric arc furnaces for steel, substituting clinker in cement, and replacing fossil fuel-based feedstock with biomass in the chemical sector. The author highlights a regulatory imbalance where pollution payouts via free permits are over 15 times the amount allocated for innovation under the EU ETS reform after 2020, and suggests alternatives like a carbon border tax.

This briefing contends that the CORSIA global offsetting mechanism for aviation is too weak to incentivize efficiency and calls for additional European-level measures to ensure the sector contributes fairly to climate goals.

The document describes CORSIA as the first global market-based climate measure for a sector, agreed upon by 191 countries via ICAO. While acknowledging its importance, the author argues that stabilizing emissions at 2020 levels is insufficient to meet Paris Agreement temperature goals and requires additional state and regional government action. It also outlines the five technical components of the 'CORSIA Package' distributed in December 2017, covering emissions coverage, monitoring, unit quality, sustainable fuels, and compliance reporting.

The guide critiques the ICAO's CORSIA scheme, arguing that offsetting is incompatible with Paris Agreement goals and prone to failures seen in the UN Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), such as lack of additionality and human rights violations.

The document asserts that the revamped EU ETS rules for 2021-2030 are insufficient to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, necessitating additional national actions such as carbon floor prices. It highlights the UK's experience, where a floor price introduced in 2013 contributed to a nearly 60% drop in coal emissions in 2016. The text notes similar initiatives in the Netherlands and considerations in Nordic countries, arguing that such price floors provide investment certainty and discourage the use of coal to avoid stranded assets.

Carbon Market Watch argues that the risk of carbon leakage within the EU ETS has decreased due to global climate progress, such as the Paris Agreement, and suggests that the long-term competitiveness gains of a low-carbon transition outweigh short-term costs.

The document frames climate change as a form of 'climate debt' where the true cost of pollution is shifted to future generations and society. It highlights the economic impact of extreme weather, noting that the 2017 North Atlantic hurricane season caused $215 billion in losses. To address this, the author advocates for increasing the coverage and level of carbon pricing globally to ensure emitters face the full cost of their pollution, thereby reducing greenhouse gas emissions and funding adaptation for vulnerable communities.

Carbon Market Watch criticizes the lack of transparency and the voluntary nature of offset criteria in ICAO's CORSIA scheme, warning that these flaws, combined with a reliance on low-quality CDM credits, could render the program's climate contribution null.