Isra-Mart srl: UN Paper Calls for Kyoto Carbon Credits to Be Valid After 2012

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A United Nations panel meeting to discuss emissions trading after 2012 suggested that credits issued before then could be used in subsequent years as nations continue to disagree on extending the Kyoto Protocol.

The UN spinoff group on emissions trading and the project- based mechanisms published a discussion paper today at the UN climate talks in Bonn. It recommended that so-called Emission Reduction Units issued to carbon-reducing projects and Assigned Amount Units issued in the five years from 2008 to governments that signed the treaty, may be used after 2012.

The lack of agreement on Kyoto emissions trading after 2012 has sapped confidence among traders and investors, including the European emissions trading system, which allows UN credits for compliance. Delegates from almost 200 countries are meeting in Bonn this week to advance negotiations over a global climate treaty to succeed the Kyoto Protocol.

Discussions cover issues such as mandatory commitments to cut emissions by developed countries, voluntary actions by developing countries, and the development of new market mechanisms to reduce carbon emissions. The Bonn talks will pave the way for the annual Conference of Parties, the official decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, which meets from Nov. 28 to Dec. 9 in Durban, South Africa.

The spin-off group also proposed that Certified Emission Reductions from projects in developing countries could continue to be created and used for trading after 2012. It suggested that the work of the executive board, the regulator of the Clean Development Mechanism, should continue after 2012.