COP28 holds key to global carbon market that could help improve offsets

Climate negotiators at COP28 may bolster carbon trading when they decide on rules for a new United Nations-overseen emissions market that can lower the cost of fighting global warming.

In Dubai, envoys representing more than 190 nations are set to discuss standards for credits that allow their holders to compensate for pollution at home by investing in projects elsewhere to cut emissions or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The UN-sponsored program aims to ensure high quality credits within an internationally agreed framework, offering investors greater certainty amid concerns that some existing voluntary projects do little or nothing to curb climate change.