Carbon credits market was one of the key themes discussed during New York climate week 2024
The was a renewed focus during Climate Week NYC on the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA), a carbon credits scheme initiated by former U.S. climate envoy John Kerry, in 2022.
The scheme aims to help regional governments reduce emissions in the power sector and shift to renewable energy by selling carbon credits to companies seeking to offset their emissions.
Key highlights include:
- Major tech companies like Meta and Netflix have expressed interest in the ETA, joining earlier supporters like Amazon, Salesforce, PepsiCo, and McDonald’s.
- The scheme aims to finance the retirement of fossil fuel infrastructure, like coal plants, in exchange for credits that companies can buy to offset their emissions.
- Kerry emphasized that businesses must focus on reducing their emissions directly, rather than relying solely on carbon offsets.
- The ETA is particularly targeted at attracting private investment to fund renewable energy projects in developing regions, including Africa, Southeast Asia, and South America.
- The carbon credit market is seen as a way to address the rising energy demand caused by power-intensive technologies, such as AI and data centers, which have led to significant emissions increases for companies like Google and Microsoft.
Earlier this year, Google reported that an expansion of the data centers that underpin AI had caused its emissions to surge by 48 per cent over the past five years. Microsoft has also reported an emissions increase of almost a third since 2030, which it attributed to constructing data centres.
Amazon, Salesforce, PepsiCo and McDonald’s are among earlier supporters of the ETA, along with banks including Bank of America, Morgan Stanley, Standard Chartered. They are joined by about another 20 companies, including Nike, Santander, and REI, who are meeting in New York to discuss next steps for the ETA programme and their notional interest in supporting the scheme.
The ETA is exploring decarbonization projects in countries like Chile, the Dominican Republic, and the Philippines, with ministers from these nations attending New York Climate Week discussions, underscoring the scheme’s global reach and significance.
Source: ETA Accelerator
