Expert panel hosted by the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and En+ Group says new economic architecture is needed to fast track decarbonization.
4 November 2021 – Glasgow: A panel of expert policymakers and business leaders has called for rapid introduction of carbon pricing around the world. Speaking at COP26 in Glasgow, leaders including Patricia Fuller, Canada's Ambassador for Climate Change, and Axel van Trotsenburg, Managing Director of Operations at the World Bank, urged more support be given to governments to put a fair and effective price on carbon, arguing this is essential for the shift to net zero emissions by 2050.
Convened by the World Bank’s Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and En+ Group, the panel backed carbon pricing as an effective tool for incentivizing green production and ensuring affordable access to low-carbon goods and services.
Alongside Mr van Trotsenburg and Ambassador Fuller, the panel included CPLC co-chairs Juan Carlos Jobet, Minister of Energy for Chile, and Lord Barker of Battle, Executive Chairman of En+ Group, who both highlighted carbon pricing’s vital role in keeping warming below 1.5°C. They were joined by Rachel Kyte, Dean of The Fletcher School at Tufts University and Former Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations for Sustainable Energy for All, and Joanne Yawitch, CEO of the National Business Initiative and member of South Africa’s Presidential Commission on Climate Change.
In line with recent findings from the CPLC, the panel agreed carbon pricing is yet to fulfil its potential despite widespread endorsement from global economists. They urged governments and cities to work with businesses and investors to find effective ways of pricing emissions that accelerate decarbonization and support a just transition. The panel also called for coherent and transparent emissions disclosure, arguing clarity on the carbon footprint of products is a crucial enabler of sustainable choices.
Lord Barker of Battle, Co-Chair of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and Executive Chairman of En+ Group, said:
“Carbon pricing can retool our economy to deliver net zero. It ensures those imposing costs on the future pay their fair share in the present, while backing the innovations we need to build a sustainable world. Carbon pricing is not a cost but a catalyst, accelerating us towards net zero efficiently, fairly, and with the urgency our planet demands.”
Juan Carlos Jobet, Co-Chair of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition and Minister of Energy for Chile, said:
“Carbon pricing can play a substantial role in decarbonizing the world economy, at the required pace and effectiveness, bringing innovation and welfare to society, while protecting against economic downturns of different nature. To unleash its full potential so more GHG emissions are covered globally, robust, transparent, and efficient international rules are needed. To successfully implement carbon pricing as a driver for urgent, substantive mitigation actions, the panellists made a strong call for an effective coordination at different levels of decision making, including public, private, and financial sector actors.”
Axel van Trotsenburg, Managing Director of Operations, World Bank, said:
“As the world’s largest financier of climate action in developing countries, the World Bank Group is deeply committed to helping countries take meaningful action on climate and development together. Carbon pricing can play a key role in incentivizing low-carbon investments, if well implemented. That’s why the World Bank has been supporting integrated carbon pricing efforts – that put people and communities at their core - and we will continue doing so through our new Climate Change Action plan (2021-25).
Last year, carbon pricing policies generated about $53 billion in revenue for economies. However, there are too few such policies in place and many prices are still too low to be effective. Through programs like our Partnership for Market Implementation, we’re helping build the relevant capacities and institutions to enable our clients unlock the full potential of carbon pricing in their economies.”
