Global finance group urges greater use of carbon markets to meet climate goals

28 Oct, 2021

LONDON: Countries must increase the use of carbon markets to meet the Paris climate goals of limiting a global rise in temperature to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA) said on Thursday.

Global leaders will gather in Glasgow, Scotland, from Sunday for a United Nations climate summit, when negotiators will seek to set rules on how carbon markets can be used under the Paris accord.

Just 20% of global greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) are covered by a regulated price, and the schemes that exist establish prices often too low to effect real change, a report by the GFMA and Boston Consulting Group said.

Climate pledges not honoured

"Effective carbon pricing in the economy is one of the strongest tools to drive changed outcomes, treating GHG emissions as a time-limited resource," Steve Ashley, Chairman of GFMA and Head of Wholesale Division at Nomura, said.

An emissions trading system (ETS) sets a cap on the amount of emissions that a sector, or group of sectors, can produce. It creates "carbon permits" for those emissions that companies can buy for each tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) they emit.

The average cost of a tonne of CO2 in existing schemes is less than $5 and needs rise to $50-150 a tonne by 2030 to meet the Paris goals, the report said.

Carbon prices in Europe's ETS, the world's most established scheme, trade around 60 euros ($69.83) a tonne, while China's ETS, which launched earlier this year, prices carbon at around 43 yuan ($6.73).

A global carbon price of $100 per tonne or more is needed by 2050 to meet climate goals, a Reuters poll of climate economists found earlier this month.

The Global Financial Markets Association comprises financial industry trade groups in Europe, Asia and the United States.

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