UN climate body partners AirCarbon Exchange to promote carbon offsetting

United Nations Climate Change has begun a new partnership with the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), the world’s first fully digital carbon exchange, to promote carbon offsetting via emission reductions certified by the secretariat of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The partnership will allow ACX clients representing 30 different countries to purchase and retire emission credits known as ‘Certified Emission Reductions’ (CERs) for their carbon offsetting purposes. It will be the second exchange in the world, and the first in Asia, to list CERs held in the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) registry, the database that holds and tracks CERs, including their retirement (see below for an explanation of how CERs and the CDM work).

At the UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow in 2021, governments agreed guidelines for how the Paris Climate Change Agreement is to be delivered, including on Article 6 that establishes a framework for countries to exchange carbon credits through the United Nations and will give market access to all countries that want to attract green investment through the global carbon market.

James Grabert, Director, Mitigation Division at UNFCCC, said: “This partnership comes at a time of growing commitment to climate action in line with the strong agreements made by countries at the Glasgow climate conference last year. As countries embark on implementing the Paris Agreement carbon markets, this arrangement will enable early movers to reward projects already underway with the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). By offsetting emissions through CDM projects that have ongoing crediting periods, investors can support the successful transition of such projects to the Paris era.”

Through the partnership, ACX will work closely with the UN Climate Change secretariat to raise awareness about carbon offsetting and facilitate the use of CERs in the carbon markets by connecting UN-vetted climate friendly projects in need of revenue with investors seeking quality units to meet their climate action objectives.

Thomas McMahon, CEO and Co-Founder of AirCarbon Exchange, said: “We are honoured to partner with the UNFCCC to promote and facilitate the use of CERs for voluntary offsetting. We look forward to working with the UNFCCC to direct much-needed finance to a wide range of carbon projects under the UN Clean Development Mechanism.”