Diplomats have greenlit key rules that govern the trade of “carbon credits”, breaking a years-long deadlock and paving the way for rich countries to pay for cheap climate action abroad while delaying expensive emission cuts at home.
The agreement, reached late on the first day of Cop29 in Azerbaijan, was hailed by the hosts as an early win at climate talks that have been snubbed by prominent world leaders and clouded by the threat of a US retreat from climate diplomacy after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential election.
But critics have warned the rules were rushed through without following proper process.
“We welcome this positive momentum,” said Mukhtar Babayev, the president of Cop29, praising a “spirit of compromise that I hope will inspire all our work here in Baku”.