Recommendation 26

We applaud the UK Government and civil society for leading the way in building a global voluntary carbon market. We appreciate the difficulty of achieving a global price for carbon, but it is ultimately needed to prevent a race to the bottom where industries flock to headquarter in jurisdictions with the lowest penalties for polluting the planet and derailing the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5°C. A global price for carbon would also help to remove the perverse incentives in individual nations’ carbon pricing schemes such as the UK emissions trading scheme, where high-emitting industries may be inadvertently subsidised to prevent capital flight. We recommend that the Government launch its promised consultation on voluntary carbon markets without delay.