NEW YORK - Carbon credits may not be aligned with States' international obligations on climate change and human rights, reveals a new report by Elisa Morgera, the Special Rapporteur on climate change.
"As the vast majority of countries rely on carbon credits, we cannot ignore the evidence casting serious doubt about the effective contribution of international carbon credit markets to climate mitigation," Morgera said. "Research, court decisions and lived experiences show that these mechanisms incentivise low-quality credits, over-crediting and greenwashing, resulting in delayed emissions reductions."
"As far as carbon markets contribute to increased greenhouse gas emissions, they harm everyone's human right to a healthy environment, including for children and future generations," the Special Rapporteur said.
The report indicated that the widely documented negative impacts of carbon credit projects on the human rights of Indigenous Peoples, peasants and rural women are not isolated cases of implementation failures, but systemic issues that require identifying structural flaws in design and incentives.
"Most of the burden is borne by communities and countries least responsible for climate change, whereas most economic benefits accrue to States and economic actors who are most responsible for it," the expert said. "Economic actors benefitting the most from international carbon credit markets are those with vested interest in the continuation of a fossil fuel-based economy, including big tech companies."
This is critical in light of recent calls by the UN Secretary General to ensure that polluters pay for climate harm, rather than continuing to make exorbitant profits from it; and by the Head of the UN Climate Convention to prevent climate harm caused by the unchecked growth of data centers and artificial intelligence.
"Any form of international cooperation, including carbon credits, cannot assist or benefit climate-harming economic actors, particularly when these same actors engage in climate disinformation and obstruction," Morgera said.
Technical reforms discussed under the Paris Agreement may be insufficient to address these systemic issues.
"We need an urgent reassessment - internationally and domestically - of carbon credits in accordance with the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on States' climate obligations. Where carbon credits foreseeably fail to protect the climate system, the environment and human rights, States' reliance on, or authorisation of, such mechanisms is inconsistent with international law."
