U.N. rules for carbon trading between nations approved at COP29 climate talks

New U.N. climate rules allow wealthy nations to buy carbon offsets, raising concerns about greenwashing and transparency issues.

New rules allowing wealthy polluting countries to buy carbon-cutting "offsets" from developing nations were agreed at U.N. climate talks on Saturday (November 24, 2024), in a move already raising fears they will be used to greenwash climate targets.

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This decision, taken during extra time at the COP29 conference, is a major step forward in a thorny debate that has dragged through climate talks for years, and diplomats broke into applause when the decision was gavelled.

Supporters say a U.N.-backed framework for carbon trading could direct investment to developing nations where many credits are generated.

Critics fear if set up poorly, these schemes could undermine the world's efforts to curb global warming.

Carbon credits are generated by activities that reduce or avoid planet-heating greenhouse gas emissions, like planting trees, protecting existing carbon sinks or replacing polluting coal with clean-energy alternatives.

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