DUBAI, The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) announced a new initiative at COP28 to enhance developing countries’ access to carbon markets and address social and environmental risks. The initiative aims to promote accurate carbon accounting, addressing concerns such as double counting of emission reductions, human rights violations, and greenwashing.

According to United Nations Development Programme, carbon markets are trading schemes that create financial incentives for activities reducing or removing greenhouse gas emissions. These markets can be significant for developing countries to bring low-carbon technologies and raise private capital to support climate action.

The initiative seeks to address controversies surrounding carbon markets and promote their positive impacts. UNDP Administrator Achim Steiner noted the trillion-dollar gap needed for developing countries to fulfill their climate action pledges. He emphasized the importance of maintaining climate impact, indigenous communities, and human rights in these markets.

Cassie Flynn, UNDP Climate Hub Director, highlighted the need for increased reliability and transparency in carbon markets, aligning them with the Paris Agreement goals. The initiative will focus on both demand and supply sides, generating high-quality carbon credits to level the playing field for host countries.

UNDP’s commitment to high integrity ensures real emission reductions and removals with verifiable climate impacts, aligned with countries’ broader climate action pledges.

The initiative will involve diverse stakeholders, including governments, private sector companies, project developers, investors, civil society, Indigenous Peoples, local communities, women, and others. It will provide technical assistance and support governments in policy, regulatory, and legal frameworks and institutional capacities.

UNDP’s efforts build on existing partnerships and its commitment to social and environmental standards, delivering resources directly to indigenous peoples and local communities, establishing equitable benefit-sharing arrangements, stakeholder engagement platforms, grievance mechanisms, respecting indigenous peoples’ rights, and promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment.