Back in 2015, when 174 countries and the European Union came together to finalize the Paris Agreement, each agreed to do its part to slash greenhouse gas emissions. Signatories put forward their own specific targets — known as “nationally determined contributions,” or NDCs — that would, theoretically, add up to limit global warming to “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit).
It’s been largely up to each country to figure out how to achieve these emissions goals. Some countries have begun transitioning their power sectors away from fossil fuels, for instance. Others have levied a tax on carbon emissions or promoted electric vehicles.
But countries also want to work together to achieve their NDCs — and they’re trying to create a new global carbon market to do so.
