On 15 November in Belém, Brazil, senior climate officials from 18 countries met under Brazil’s leadership to advance a new global commitment aimed at shaping how nations regulate, price, and trade carbon. The discussions, held during COP30, focused on the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets, a voluntary initiative seeking to establish shared standards that would allow different countries’ carbon markets to interconnect, improve liquidity, and accelerate global decarbonization.
The gathering, chaired by Ambassador Maurício Lyrio, brought together governments that collectively account for a significant share of global emissions, industrial output, and carbon market activity. Brazil launched the coalition earlier this month with the intention of offering countries a structured path to regulate emissions and give carbon pricing a clearer, more predictable role in national climate policy. Unlike the fragmented systems that have developed over the last decade, the coalition aims to bring cohesion to how carbon credits are generated, monitored, and traded.
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Lyrio told delegates that compliance carbon markets remain one of the most important tools for implementing the Paris Agreement, not only because they set limits on emissions, but because they create economic signals that encourage industries to shift away from high-carbon production. He stressed that the coalition’s value lies in its ability to raise the integrity of carbon markets, a long-standing concern for both governments and investors.
In many jurisdictions, poorly regulated offset systems have undermined confidence in carbon trading, leaving developing countries at a disadvantage when attempting to attract investment into clean energy, conservation, or sustainable industries.
The work is being overseen by Brazil’s Ministry of Finance, represented in Belém by Deputy Executive Secretary Rafael Dubeux. He highlighted the global need to move away from fossil fuels “in a structured, orderly and equitable manner,” noting that a regulated carbon market is one of the clearest paths to achieving this. For Dubeux, the coalition’s emphasis on shared monitoring and verification standards offers countries a chance to reduce discrepancies that have slowed the growth of cross-border carbon trade. A system built around common accounting rules, he argued, allows governments to integrate carbon pricing into their economies without sacrificing credibility or fairness.
The coalition’s membership has grown rapidly. It now includes Brazil, China, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada, Chile, Germany, Mexico, Armenia, Zambia, France, Rwanda, Andorra, Guinea, New Zealand, Monaco, Singapore and Norway. For African members such as Zambia and Rwanda, the initiative offers a way to strengthen national climate policies while gaining access to international expertise in regulation, reporting, and market governance.
Many African nations have suffered from inconsistent carbon market frameworks, which have held back the development of high-integrity carbon projects and limited communities’ ability to monetise emissions reductions. Participation in the coalition may help these countries attract investment that has historically flowed to better-regulated markets.
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The European Union’s Commissioner for Energy and Climate Action, Dan Jørgensen, welcomed the effort and signaled Europe’s willingness to work closely with Brazil in building a carbon pricing framework that aligns with the Paris Agreement. He emphasized the need for high-quality credits and transparent rules, arguing that the coalition could help establish benchmarks for countries designing or reforming domestic carbon markets. As Europe tightens its own emissions trading system, cooperation with emerging markets becomes increasingly important for aligning climate policies across regions.
Norway was the most recent country to join the commitment. Its Minister of Climate and Environment, Andreas Bjelland Eriksen, stressed that Norway’s experience in emissions trading and carbon accounting could support newer participants in strengthening environmental integrity. For Norway, as for many other members, the coalition provides a forum to exchange knowledge on methodologies that ensure crediting systems translate into real, measurable reductions.
The coalition’s work arrives at a time when carbon markets are undergoing rapid transition particularly in Africa. Kenya, South Africa, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal are all at different stages of building or refining regulatory frameworks for domestic trading systems.
South Africa’s carbon tax regime has entered a new phase of implementation, while Kenya has moved to regulate private developers after years of criticism over deals that bypassed community consent. Rwanda, an early adopter of national MRV guidelines, has been seeking international partners to scale its forestry and land restoration crediting schemes. These countries face a common challenge: without consistent global rules, Africa’s carbon projects often fetch lower prices despite their high mitigation potential.
The coalition’s push for transparency and standardization may help close this gap. If countries adopt shared MRV and accounting principles, African jurisdictions could issue carbon credits that meet the expectations of major buyers, unlocking revenue streams that support reforestation, clean cooking, grid decarbonization, and climate-resilient agriculture.
A credible carbon price also gives African governments a policy tool to steer industries toward low-carbon technologies, something that becomes increasingly vital as climate impacts intensify across the continent.
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