- Sweeping Vietnam internet law comes into force
- Pope kicks off Christmas under shadow of war
- Catholics hold muted Christmas mass in Indonesia's Sharia stronghold
- Japan's top diplomat in China to address 'challenges'
- Thousands attend Christmas charity dinner in Buenos Aires
- Demand for Japanese content booms post 'Shogun'
- As India's Bollywood shifts, stars and snappers click
- Mystery drones won't interfere with Santa's work: US tracker
- Djokovic eyes more Slam glory as Swiatek returns under doping cloud
- Australia's in-form Head confirmed fit for Boxing Day Test
- Brazilian midfielder Oscar returns to Sao Paulo
- 'Wemby' and 'Ant-Man' to make NBA Christmas debuts
- US agency focused on foreign disinformation shuts down
- On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis launches holy Jubilee year
- 'Like a dream': AFP photographer's return to Syria
- Chiefs seek top seed in holiday test for playoff-bound NFL teams
- Panamanians protest 'public enemy' Trump's canal threat
- Cyclone death toll in Mayotte rises to 39
- Ecuador vice president says Noboa seeking her 'banishment'
- Leicester boss Van Nistelrooy aware of 'bigger picture' as Liverpool await
- Syria authorities say armed groups have agreed to disband
- Maresca expects Man City to be in title hunt as he downplays Chelsea's chancs
- Man Utd boss Amorim vows to stay on course despite Rashford row
- South Africa opt for all-pace attack against Pakistan
- Guardiola adamant Man City slump not all about Haaland
- Global stocks mostly higher in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Bethlehem marks sombre Christmas under shadow of war
- NASA probe makes closest ever pass by the Sun
- 11 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Indonesia considers parole for ex-terror chiefs: official
- Global stocks mostly rise in thin pre-Christmas trade
- Postecoglou says Spurs 'need to reinforce' in transfer window
- Le Pen says days of new French govt numbered
- Global stocks mostly rise after US tech rally
- Villa boss Emery set for 'very difficult' clash with Newcastle
- Investors swoop in to save German flying taxi startup
- How Finnish youth learn to spot disinformation
- South Korean opposition postpones decision to impeach acting president
- 12 killed in blast at Turkey explosives plant
- Panama leaders past and present reject Trump's threat of Canal takeover
- Hong Kong police issue fresh bounties for activists overseas
- Saving the mysterious African manatee at Cameroon hotspot
- India consider second spinner for Boxing Day Test
- London wall illuminates Covid's enduring pain at Christmas
- Poyet appointed manager at South Korea's Jeonbuk
- South Korea's opposition vows to impeach acting president
- The tsunami detection buoys safeguarding lives in Thailand
- Teen Konstas to open for Australia in Boxing Day India Test
- Asian stocks mostly up after US tech rally
- US panel could not reach consensus on US-Japan steel deal: Nippon
US announces 'guardrails' for controversial carbon markets to succeed
President Joe Biden's administration announced new "guardrails" it says will ensure that carbon offset markets effectively reduce greenhouse gas emissions, in a big boost for the contentious schemes.
Cabinet officials including Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen laid out the government's first broad guidelines for "high-integrity" carbon markets, aimed at dispelling distrust in a system panned by critics as greenwashing.
"It's about building the confidence to be able to use this tool more effectively at scale," White House national climate adviser Ali Zaidi told AFP.
"Four years into the decisive decade for climate action, we're not in a position to sideline any set of tools that will help us move faster."
Carbon credits enable corporations and countries to offset their greenhouse gas emissions, with each credit representing the reduction or removal of one tonne of CO2, often in developing countries through projects combating deforestation.
The carbon offsets market is currently worth around $2 billion per year, but has come under intense fire recently after research has shown that claims of reduced emissions under the schemes are often hugely overestimated -- or simply non-existent.
Yellen outlined principles emphasizing integrity in three key areas: supply-side credits tied to genuine emissions reductions or removals; demand-side corporate accountability that prioritizes emission reduction; and market integrity through greater transparency and reduced complexity.
- US imprimatur -
The release of the guidelines, detailed in a 12-page policy statement, is an important signal the US government is throwing its weight behind carbon markets, Nat Keohane, of the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, told AFP.
"Right now, the problem we have is not that all credits are bad -- some are really, really good, and some are bad, and it's hard to tell the difference," he said.
That's where the administration's guidelines come in, he added, "creating convergence and alignment about what good looks like."
Accountability, he said, would be market-driven and come from companies seeking high-quality carbon credits to avoid a public backlash.
While the Biden administration doesn't explicitly endorse emerging sets of standards developed by the two most prominent industry-led bodies -- the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) and Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity initiative (VCMI) -- it says these play "an essential role."
Prominent advocates of carbon markets, including former US climate envoy John Kerry, argue that government funding alone is insufficient to meet the Paris accord's goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Kenya's President William Ruto has hailed Africa's carbon sinks as an "unparalleled economic goldmine" with the potential to generate billions annually.
- 'Walk the talk' -
But Gilles Dufrasne of Carbon Market Watch told AFP that the US government must "walk the talk" and ensure transparency and integrity in its promises.
"There is currently no public data to transparently measure how much finance is flowing to climate action through carbon credits, and how much is staying in the pockets of global north intermediaries and consultants," he added.
Environmentalists are also concerned about a provision in the guidelines that appears to endorse offsetting pollution from businesses' value chains.
Buying credits to cover so-called "Scope 3 emissions" effectively gives corporations a free pass to keep polluting, say climate advocacy groups.
A recent global scientific review meanwhile found that market-based approaches to forest conservation, including carbon offsets and deforestation-free certification schemes, have largely failed to protect trees or alleviate poverty.
The United Nations COP28 climate talks held in Dubai last year failed to agree on a unified set of global rules governing carbon markets, leaving countries to come up with their own bilateral and regional guidelines -- a situation ripe for greenwashing, according to critics.
P.M.Smith--AMWN