Brazil's coalition to align carbon markets: will it work?

Brazil is chairing a new international body, the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets (OCCCM), to align the world's fragmented carbon markets. The coalition, co-chaired by China and the EU, aims to harmonize monitoring, accounting, and integrity standards across dozens of national systems. Brazil wants to avoid border tariffs like the EU's CBAM by getting markets to recognize each other's rules, but its own emissions trading system won't launch until 2030, raising questions about its credibility. The article notes that carbon prices vary wildly, from $68 per tonne in Europe to $4 in Latin America, driving concerns about carbon leakage. Previous attempts at climate clubs have failed due to Global South fears of punitive pricing and lack of trusted cross-border accounting. The OCCCM avoids tariffs and focuses on technical standards, but experts warn it must produce concrete results within two years or risk being dismissed as another talking shop. The US is absent, potentially facing penalties from new border adjustments in Britain, Australia, and elsewhere.