The new international initiative to strengthen global cooperation on carbon pricing builds on from the declaration endorsed by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen among other world leaders at COP30 in Belem, Brazil, in November 2025.
The European Commission, on behalf of the EU, together with Brazil and China officially launched the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets yesterday in Florence, Italy.
The coalition will enhance the effectiveness, transparency and integrity of domestic carbon markets worldwide, supporting the delivery of the Paris Agreement.
New Zealand and Germany are the first countries to join as members.
The coalition will enhance the effectiveness, transparency and integrity of domestic carbon markets worldwide, supporting the delivery of the Paris Agreement. It will offer a platform for cooperation on carbon pricing policies.
Its work will focus on key elements like robust monitoring, reporting and verification systems, sound carbon accounting methodologies and the potential use of high integrity offsets to promote environmental integrity.
At the signing ceremony, Commission director general for climate action Kurt Vandenberghe represented the EU, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment Li Gao represented China and the extraordinary secretary for carbon markets Cristina Reis represented in Brazil.
With the adoption of the coalition’s terms of reference, it is now open to countries with nationwide compliance carbon markets, such as emissions trading systems or a carbon tax. Subnational authorities operating a carbon pricing scheme can participate as observers.
New Zealand and Germany are the first countries to join as members, with several others expected to follow. Brazil will chair the Coalition for the first two years, with China and the European Commission as co-chairs, a release from the European Commission said.
Next steps include establishing the coalition’s secretariat and developing a work plan to be adopted at the Carbon Market Conference taking place on September 15, 2026, in Wuhan, China.
With around 80 carbon pricing schemes in place across 50 different countries, there is a clear benefit to working together under this coalition: fostering mutual understanding, promoting best practices, and raising global standards., the release added.
The Commission is entering the Coalition with a clear set of priorities for the workplan: enhance domestic carbon pricing effectiveness; encourage a race to the top for carbon credits quality, building on the work of Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism; and assess how carbon accounting methods can be compared and whether suggestions can be made to facilitate corporate compliance across systems, building on the work the Climate Club.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
