"Biden's Climate Summit: Troubling Plans and Global Cooperation on Carbon Pricing"

Internal documents reveal tensions between the United States and the European Union (EU) ahead of the climate summit in Dubai, with the US supporting a largely unregulated, voluntary carbon market instead of a more stringent United Nations (UN)-regulated market favored by the EU. Experts suggest that the US is relying on private-sector climate solutions and corporate responsibility to compensate for its record-breaking fossil fuel production and inadequate climate finance. Concerns have been raised about the efficacy and integrity of voluntary carbon markets, which have been plagued by questionable climate benefits, harm to indigenous communities, and corruption. The EU is concerned that weaker carbon market standards could lead to over-crediting and deviate from the goals of the Paris Agreement.