LONDON, 26 July - IETA announces today the publication of its oral history of the carbon markets, titled From Kyoto to Paris: the Oral History of the Carbon Markets.

The book gathers together interviews from key participants in climate negotiations, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. It follows the evolution of carbon markets starting at Kyoto in 1997 and ending with the conclusion of the Paris Agreement last December.

Excerpts from interviews with participants have been published in seven video clips at www.ieta.org/kyototoparis.

The book focus on markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early experiments with emissions trading, the growth of the EU ETS, the CDM and carbon funds, and concludes with the momentous events in Paris last December when 196 nations agreed a new global climate treaty. 

Downloadable and hard copies of the book are available at www.amazon.com - search for "From Kyoto to Paris".  For a limited time, a Kindle version is available free of charge. 

LONDON, 6 July - The final chapter of IETA’s oral history of the carbon market, looking at the road to Paris and beyond, is released today.

The closing video chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, available online, focuses on the Paris Agreement and the outlook for carbon markets in the coming years – particularly in China.

“The future for carbon markets is truly exciting, with new initiatives emerging around the world – and this is set to increase as the Paris Agreement starts to be implemented,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “It’s been a rollercoaster 19 years since the Kyoto Protocol was agreed – we hope the lessons captured by From Kyoto to Paris stand us in good stead for the next 19.”

Previous chapters have focused on markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early experiments with emissions trading, the growth of the EU ETS, the CDM and carbon funds. All seven video chapters are available on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. 

The book will shortly be available via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out on this year’s essential summer reading!

IETA welcomes the North American Leaders’ Summit (NALS) statement by the US, Canada and Mexico on energy and climate commitments.

We welcome in particular the reaffirmation of the countries’ intent to join the Paris Agreement this year, which will give a strong boost to early entry into force of the new climate deal.

The undertaking to implement the respective Nationally Determined Contributions is a key step towards achieving Paris’ goal of net zero emissions by the second half of the century.

IETA also welcomes the countries’ commitment to using carbon markets where applicable to help achieve those goals.

“Carbon markets have been shown to be the most efficient way to achieve carbon reductions at lowest cost, to generate investment in clean energy and to embed low-carbon strategy at corporate level,” said Katie Sullivan, head of North America at IETA.

IETA warmly applauds the leaders’ undertaking to support the development by the International Civil Aviation Organisation of a global market-based measure to combat emissions from aviation. In particular, we applaud their commitment to joining the first phase of the sector’s global offsetting mechanism.

“Cross-border commitments such as this will also provide support for deeper, broader and stronger international climate efforts,” Sullivan added.

The three countries have also agreed to tackle methane emissions, a powerful greenhouse gas, from the oil and gas sectors, by 40-45% by 2025, as well as achieve 50% non-emitting power generation with improvements to transmission links across North America.

Other elements of today’s North American, Clean Energy and Environment Partnership Action Plan include:

• Sharing lessons and best practices to improve carbon emissions accounting and to avoid double-counting of reductions;
  

• Encouraging subnational governments to share their experiences of carbon pricing;
  

• Supporting international partners with development assistance and financing to boost efforts to combat climate change;
  

• Promoting transparency in reporting and verification of emissions reductions; and
  
• Share best practices and technical solutions to improve effectiveness, including for land sector and carbon-market-related approaches.

For more information, see the Leaders' Statement from the Prime Minister of Canada's Office, or visit the Government of Canada's NALS website.

Contact: Katie Sullivan, sullivan@ieta.org

LONDON, 29 June - Chapter six of IETA’s oral history of the carbon market looks at how the Durban climate talks marked a sea change in the international negotiations and laid the path for the Paris Agreement.

Available online from today, this latest chapter of From Kyoto to Paris focuses on the significance of the outcome of the Durban talks and what were the key factors behind it.   

“After the bitter end to the Copenhagen talks in 2009, to have such a turn-around just two years later in Durban is truly remarkable, and a testament to the importance governments place on the international climate change negotiations,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “What happened in South Africa was a game-changer for the UN climate process and set the foundations for where we are today.”

The oral history project, From Kyoto to Paris, charts the path from the 1997 treaty to 2015 and the Paris Agreement. Comprised of both a series of videos and a book, it features interviews with key players in the market’s growth, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. 

Chapters previously released have looked at markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early experiments with emissions trading, the growth of the EU ETS and the CDM. The final chapter, released next week, will focus on the road to Paris and beyond. It will be available on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. 

The book will soon be released via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out on this year’s essential summer reading!

LONDON, 24 June - The UK referendum result has been a great shock to markets everywhere, including the EU carbon market. IETA respects the decision of the UK electorate. We aim to assist in ensuring that the transition is made in a way that preserves climate ambition and market continuity.

As the UK and European Union embark on the process of unwinding the links between them, IETA hopes that Britain will continue to offer the strong support for market-based responses and ambition to climate change that it has provided for many years.

The Brexit verdict does not mean that the UK cannot continue to play a central role in the carbon market. IETA notes that there are legal precedents for non-EU member countries to participate in the EU ETS.

IETA is happy to work with all stakeholders to ensure that the EU’s carbon market is strengthened and sustained through both the UK/EU negotiations as well as the present Phase 4 review. 

Continuity is vital to maintaining the integrity of the market, and it’s also critical to maintaining the global momentum from the Paris climate talks last December. Climate ambition requires global cooperation, including through the markets and financing where the UK has shown global leadership. We urge the new UK leadership to make it a priority to build on these achievements. 

LONDON, 22 June - The role that carbon funds played in the growth of the carbon market is the subject of the fifth chapter of IETA’s oral history of the carbon market.

This latest chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, available online from today, tells the story of how carbon funds – initiated by the World Bank – helped to shape the international market and what drove emitters and governments to invest in these vehicles.  

“Climate finance is an increasingly important component of international climate policy, and the legacy of the years of investment via carbon funds can help inform future financial vehicles, such as the Green Climate Fund,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. 

The overall oral history project, From Kyoto to Paris, charts the path from the 1997 treaty to 2015 and the Paris Agreement. Comprised of both a series of videos and a book, it features interviews with key players in the market’s growth, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. 

Chapters already released have looked at markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early experiments with emissions trading, the growth of the EU ETS and the CDM. Forthcoming chapters will look at the changes brought by the Durban climate talks and the Paris Agreement. 

Each week, IETA will release another video chapter of the story on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. In early July, the book will be released via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out!

LONDON, 16 June - As the UK prepares to vote in a referendum on EU membership, IETA warns against the negative consequences a "leave" vote would have on the reforms of the EU ETS and the EU’s international leadership on climate policy.

The UK has a long history of supporting and leading efforts on emissions trading within the EU, dating back to the introduction of the UK ETS in 2001 and the adoption of the EU Emissions Trading Directive in 2005. Without the early support and leadership of the UK on emissions trading, Europe would not be recognised as  a world leader on climate change policy today.

IETA believes the UK’s position at the EU table is vital during a critical time of policy development on the future of carbon markets in Europe and abroad. As part of the EU, the UK is poised to offer leadership to the legislative process to  improve the EU ETS and to the international carbon market negotiations underway at the UNFCCC.  

IETA highlights three key reasons why the UK should remain in the EU and continue its role in shaping both international and European climate policies.

IETA will respect the result of the 23 June referendum and work with its partners in the UK no matter what the outcome, but we strongly warn against the risks for the EU ETS and EU leadership on climate policy that would come with Brexit.

LONDON, 15 June - The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the subject of the fourth chapter of IETA’s carbon market oral history, released today.

This latest chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, available online, looks at how the development of the CDM, from early projects through to the boom and the challenges the market has endured over the years. Some of the market's earliest investors and project developers are featured in the video, alongside two of the leading lawyers who helped the market take root. 

“The CDM was the world’s first truly international market-based mechanism to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development, directing over hundreds of billions of new and additional climate finance to emissions reduction projects which otherwise would not have happened,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “The lessons and institutional capacity built up over our years of experience with the CDM are crucial as policymakers start turning the Paris Agreement from words into actions.”

The overall oral history project, From Kyoto to Paris, charts the path from the 1997 treaty to 2015 and the Paris Agreement. Comprised of both a series of videos and a book, it features interviews with key players in the market’s growth, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. 

Previous chapters looked at markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early trials of emissions trading and the growth of the EU ETS. Forthcoming chapters will look at the role of carbon funds and the Paris Agreement, among other topics. 

Each week, IETA will release another video chapter of the story on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. In early July, the book will be released via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out!