EU Favors Central Buying of Imported Carbon Credits

The European Union said it prefers controlled purchases of international carbon credits over the acquisition of them by individual companies, as it wants to ensure only high-quality projects count toward its ambitious climate target.

The EU has agreed to allow cheaper imported credits to account for 5% of its emissions reductions by 2040, as part of the headline 90% target to cut pollution from 1990 levels. It hasn’t yet determined how the credits, generated under Article 6 of the Paris accord for lowering greenhouse gases in poorer nations, will be used in the bloc and whether they will be allowed in the Emissions Trading System or only in sectors outside of it.