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The writer is UN special envoy on climate action and finance and a former governor of the Bank of England
本文作者是聯合國(UN)氣候行動和金融問題特使，曾任英國央行(Bank of England)行長
The brutal reality of climate physics is that the carbon budget to limit warming to 1.5C will be exhausted within a decade if the world remains on its current trajectory. That makes emissions reductions today especially crucial because they create time for the enormous investments needed in clean technologies, while extending the horizon to commercialise such innovations.
氣候物理學的殘酷現實是，如果世界繼續沿著目前的軌跡發展，將升溫限制在1.5攝氏度以內的碳預算將在十年內耗盡。這使得今天的減排尤爲重要，因爲它們爲清潔技術所需的鉅額投資創造了時間，同時擴大了將此類創新商業化的視野。
Voluntary carbon markets can play a key role in realising this time value of carbon. At present, VCMs are small — just $2bn annual issuance globally. This is largely because they have lacked integrity. There are valid questions about the credibility of claims made for projects and by buyers, the negative impacts on local and indigenous communities and whether the expansion of credits could disincentivise absolute emissions reductions.
自願碳市場(VCM)可以在實現碳的時間價值方面發揮關鍵作用。目前，自願碳市場規模較小，全球年發行量僅爲20億美元。這在很大程度上是因爲他們缺乏整合。人們對項目和購買者提出的要求的可信度、對當地和土著社區的負面影響以及信用額度的擴大是否會抑制絕對排放量的減少等問題提出了合理的質疑。
Policymakers are now stepping up to address these concerns. The US government took a groundbreaking step last month in announcing its principles for responsible participation in VCMs. It is putting to work the power of market-based solutions to build a clean economy that supports jobs, communities and growth. This is a vital first move. To reach the scale needed, major economies should work together to build globally integrated markets, not least to expand dramatically the decarbonisation opportunities for emerging and developing economies that are currently starved of capital.
政策制定者現在正在加緊解決這些擔憂。上個月，美國政府邁出了開創性的一步，宣佈了負責任參與自願碳市場的原則。它正在發揮以市場爲基礎的解決方案的力量，建立一個支援就業、社區和成長的清潔經濟。這是至關重要的第一步。爲了達到所需的規模，主要經濟體應共同努力，建立全球一體化市場，尤其是爲目前資金匱乏的新興和發展中經濟體大幅擴大脫碳機會。
High-integrity VCMs can promote a smoother, more efficient transition. If well designed, they can accelerate the pace of absolute emissions reductions. They catalyse investment by accelerating the deployment of clean energy, improving the economics of new technologies and funding a socially just transition. They can play decisive roles in catalysing the enormous capital needed to transition from coal to clean generation in Asia and to accelerate nature-based solutions everywhere.
高整合的自願碳市場可以促進更平穩、更有效的過渡。如果設計得當，它們可以加快絕對減排的步伐。它們透過加速乾淨能源的部署、提高新技術的經濟性和爲社會公正的轉型提供資金，來促進投資。它們可以在促進亞洲從煤炭發電向清潔發電過渡所需的鉅額資本，以及在各地加速以自然爲基礎的解決方案方面發揮決定性作用。
But none of this will be possible unless these markets are built on solid foundations, with the right principles. The authorities must establish standards for end-to-end integrity — of supply, demand and markets. Social integrity must also ensure that benefits flow to local communities.
但是，除非這些市場建立在堅實的基礎之上，並遵循正確的原則，否則這一切都不可能實現。有關當局必須爲供應、需求和市場建立端到端的整合標準。社會整合也必須確保當地社區受益。
Supply integrity ensures projects deliver credible emissions reductions that would not have occurred otherwise. To that end, the carbon market is coalescing around the new supply-side standards established by the independent Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market to ensure credit developers have robust governance and transparent reporting, and provide compensation if projects don’t deliver. These standards need to be supported by third-party monitoring, assurance and risk mitigation.
供應的整合確保項目提供可信的減排，否則就不會發生。爲此，碳市場正在圍繞由自願碳市場整合委員會(Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market)制定的新的供應方標準進行整合，以確保信貸開發商擁有健全的治理和透明的報告，並在項目未能交付時提供補償。這些標準需要得到第三方監測、保證和風險緩解的支援。
Demand integrity means companies that invest in carbon credits do not delay the decarbonisation of activities over which they have most control. Only those performing against ambitious targets and transition plans should earn the right to invest in credits.
需求的整合意味著，投資於碳信用額度的企業不會推遲它們最有控制權的活動的去碳化。只有那些實現了雄心勃勃的目標和過渡計劃的企業，才應該獲得投資信用額度的權利。
The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative has taken up the challenge of determining how companies can use credits for their net zero transitions, without compromising their incentives to reduce operational emissions. Policymakers must support and build upon these standards, buttressed by an assurance ecosystem for transition plans and credit use that is akin to auditors verifying the accuracy of financial accounts.
自願碳市場整合倡議(Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative)已經接受了挑戰，即確定企業如何在不損害其減少運營排放的積極性的情況下，利用碳信用額度實現淨零轉型。政策制定者必須支援和建立這些標準，同時還需要一個類似於審計師驗證財務賬目準確性的保證生態系統，來支援過渡計劃和碳信用的使用。
Market integrity is fundamental to ensuring the equitable treatment of participants and to developing the infrastructure for VCMs to scale up. This can be reinforced by innovations such as the Global Carbon Market Utility, which was launched at COP27 and will help ensure the markets have strong data transparency as well as management, supporting standardised contracts, robust audits and verification processes and effective dispute resolution mechanisms.
市場整合對於確保公平對待參與者和發展基礎設施以擴大自願碳市場規模至關重要。全球碳市場公用事業(Global Carbon Market Utility)等創新可以加強這一點。全球碳市場公用事業在COP27上啓動，將有助於確保市場具有強大的數據透明度和管理，支援標準化合同、健全的審計和核查程式以及有效的爭議解決機制。
The prize is huge if we get this right. Carbon markets can provide hundreds of billions of dollars in annual cross-border capital flows to emerging markets, promote the end of high-emitting assets and help prevent new coal generation in Asia. They can also create significant financing for biodiversity and indigenous peoples, including the essential reforestation of the Amazon. Far from a distraction, there is growing evidence they will help more companies commit to ambitious net zero goals and decarbonise faster.
如果我們做對了，我們將獲得巨大的回報。碳市場每年可以爲新興市場提供數千億美元的跨境資本流動，促進高排放資產的終結，並有助於防止亞洲產生新的煤炭。碳市場還可以爲生物多樣性和原住民創造大量資金，包括在亞馬遜地區進行至關重要的重新造林。越來越多的證據表明，它們不僅不會分散人們的注意力，反而會幫助更多企業實現宏偉的淨零碳排放目標，更快地實現去碳化。
Now is the time for the G20 to build on the US initiative, and grasp the nettle to create a globally integrated, high-integrity carbon market. No more debating while the world literally burns.
現在正是二十國集團(G20)在美國倡議的基礎上，抓緊時間成立一個全球一體化、高度整合的碳市場的時候了。不要在世界真的燒起來的時候爭論不休了。