German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Philippines President Benigno Aquino III and French President Francois Hollande were among the world leaders who issued a joint statement through the World Bank urging governments and businesses to set up carbon markets and tax carbon emissions.
Representatives from 190 countries are meeting in Bonn, Germany, this week, for last-round discussions on the language of a global climate change agreement.
The global deal would require developing and developed countries to adopt policies to curb carbon emissions.
A draft of the agreement to be approved in Paris currently excludes language on carbon pricing because some countries are opposed to the use of markets to address climate change.
“We should advance our effort along this path further so that we can actually reach our goal,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said in the statement.
World Bank President Jim Yong Kim said the current high-level support for carbon pricing is unprecedented.
As the European Union continues to refine its own emissions trading scheme and the world’s biggest emitter China launches its own national market next year, some countries and companies have pushed for a UN climate agreement to create rules to enable international trading.
