IETA welcomes enhanced ambition at Leaders Summit on Climate

GENEVA, 23 April – IETA welcomes the enhanced ambition from some of the world’s largest economies and stands ready to assist and participate in the transition to net zero emissions.

At this week’s Leaders Summit on Climate, President Joe Biden welcomed heads of state from over 40 countries to deliver enhanced climate ambition commitments and reduction targets.

The new pledges represent a strong increase in climate ambition, aimed at meeting the Paris Agreement goal of driving the global economy to net zero emissions by the middle of the century.

The steeper government goals are expected to drive a significant increase in both public and private investment in emissions abatement, and this in turn will increase interest and demand for carbon removals and offsets.

“This week’s announcements set the stage for a Glasgow success on ramping up climate ambition,” said Dirk Forrister, IETA President and CEO. “We know where national leaders want to go – so now, the focus must turn to how best to deliver it. Our best hope of meeting these goals will be to ramp up our market cooperation and finance to inspire businesses to invest at scale.”

Several leaders made specific references to the critical role of carbon pricing and use of market mechanisms to help drive down emissions and accelerate the transition. France’s President Macron underlined that the transition to net zero requires a price on carbon, while China’s President Xi confirmed that his country’s emissions market would start trading this year.

“As markets in Europe, California, Quebec and South Korea are proving, carbon markets can deliver climate targets faster and more effectively than old style command-and-control policies,” Forrister added. “It is encouraging to see China’s commitment to start its carbon market this year, putting its power sector on a course for a cleaner future.”