The United Nations approved on Thursday the first project to generate carbon credits under the market mechanism established by the Paris Agreement. The initiative involves distributing efficient cookstoves in Myanmar through a South Korean company. These credits will allow countries and businesses to offset excess emissions by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gases in other nations. However, the mechanism has sparked controversy and concerns about greenwashing practices that could undermine global climate efforts.
Approval of the first project
The United Nations has officially approved the first project under the market mechanism of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The project involves distributing efficient cookstoves in Myanmar in cooperation with a South Korean company.
Emission compensation mechanism
The UN-launched market allows countries and businesses to offset their own excessive carbon dioxide emissions by financing projects that reduce greenhouse gases in other nations. The generated credits will count toward the climate targets of South Korea and Myanmar.
Controversies and concerns
The carbon credit mechanism has raised concerns about greenwashing from the outset, meaning superficial pro-environmental actions. Critics point out that poorly designed systems could undermine global efforts to limit climate warming.
Social benefits of the project
The clean cooking project in Myanmar also has a social dimension. According to the UN, over two billion people worldwide lack access to clean cooking technologies, causing millions of deaths annually and particularly affecting women and girls.
The United Nations launched on Thursday the first project under the global carbon credit market, which is a key component of the mechanism outlined in the Paris Agreement. The project involves distributing efficient wood-burning cookstoves in Myanmar, implemented by a South Korean company. The carbon credits generated this way will be usable by South Korea and Myanmar to meet their national climate targets. The mechanism, often referred to as an offset market, allows entities that exceed their emission limits to finance projects reducing greenhouse gases in other countries. In return, they receive credits that can be deducted from their own emission balance. The fundamental goal of the system is to direct capital toward the most cost-effective climate actions, especially in developing countries. As emphasized by the UN climate change agency, the Myanmar project also addresses a pressing social issue: access to clean cooking. „Over two billion people worldwide lack access to clean cooking, which kills millions each year. Clean cooking protects health, saves forests, reduces emissions, and helps empower women and girls, who are typically most affected by household air pollution,” the statement noted. However, the initiative has sparked serious controversy among observers and non-governmental organizations. The main criticism is the risk of greenwashing, i.e., using the mechanism to create the appearance of climate action without real emission reductions. Critics fear that poorly designed offset systems could actually weaken global efforts to halt climate warming by allowing countries or companies to continue emitting greenhouse gases while claiming neutrality. The success of the entire mechanism will depend on its transparency, rigorous methodologies for verifying emission reductions, and preventing double counting of the same savings.The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, is a key international treaty on climate change. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. The market mechanism, known as Article 6 of the agreement, was designed to enable international cooperation in reducing emissions through trading units that represent real, permanent, and additional reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The approval of the first project marks a milestone in implementing the Paris provisions after years of negotiations over Article 6 implementation rules. It paves the way for further initiatives that will undergo strict verification by UN bodies. The further development of this market will be crucial for mobilizing private investment in climate action and achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the system's effectiveness in combating climate change remains the subject of lively debate, pitting arguments from supporters of flexible market mechanisms against opponents who fear their abuse.