Carbon Credit Scheme Could Propel Action On Climate Change – UN
New York, Sep 10 2009 10:10AM A United Nations-backed gathering on how to scale up a carbon credit system wrapped up
today, with participants agreeing that the mechanism can help contribute to a successful outcome at this December’s
climate change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark, which aims to conclude an ambitious new pact to curb greenhouse gas
emissions.
Over 200 participants from 20 countries gathered in Kiev, Ukraine, for a two-day gathering to discuss how to improve the
Joint Implementation scheme which is part of the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement which sets binding targets
for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing emissions.
Under the Joint Implementation programme, countries can earn emission reduction units (ERUs) – each equivalent to one
tonne of carbon dioxide – to meet part of their obligations under the Protocol.
“The international consensus is clear: climate change is a global threat that requires a global response,” said Yvo de
Boer, Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the parent treaty of the Kyoto
Protocol, noting that tackling global warming requires many resources.
The Joint Implementation scheme is one of “the few tools we have at our disposal, now, up and running, that can help
deliver those resources,” he added.
Those attending the Kiev meeting said that the initiative, along with Kyoto Protocol mechanisms such as the clean
development mechanism which allows industrialized countries to generate credits through investment in emission reduction
projects in developing countries, should continue following the end of the Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012.
ENDS