COP28 failed to deliver the expected progress on Article 6, which is meant to support the development of global carbon markets. Consequently, the voluntary carbon market is regrouping around the question of quality, which has been impacting issuances, retirements and price trends. Will the sector be able to regain momentum? Simultaneously, national carbon compliance programs are being developed in key countries of the Global South, even as more established carbon markets are being strengthened and projected across borders. Will these different trends and markets converge? Can COP29 deliver progress for carbon markets?
Improving the performance of supply chain delivery times, costs and carbon footprint is critical to all participants in the chain and to the ultimate customer. But to deliver on these improvements requires changes to hardware, facilities, operational practices and technologies used, as well as inventorizing and quantifying emissions from all partners activities and materials. What are some of the best practices and tools that enable efficient management of supply chain performance? How much room is there for further reduction in delivery times or emissions through the application of these practices?
We continue to see a tale of two carbon markets―compliance markets continue to expand while the voluntary markets are mired in transparency and integrity issues. Failure to progress on Paris Agreement Article 6, international carbon market negotiations, at COP28 has pushed the need to bolster market clarity back to stakeholder initiatives and governments. While voluntary markets remain uncertain, compliance carbon markets continue to expand, with large emitting and fast-growing countries laying groundwork for their implementation. What will be the resulting levels of ambition and how much will these markets interact? Will these markets increasingly incorporate project-based reduction efforts ―the hallmark of the VCM―into their designs? What are the synergies, challenges and opportunities ahead for integrating compliance market dynamics with voluntary market dynamics and fostering a more cohesive and effective approach to carbon mitigation?