EU, Brazil, and China formally launch Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets

On 7 May 2026, the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets held its inaugural constitutive meeting in Florence, Italy, formally launching the initiative that governments had endorsed at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025.

The signing ceremony was attended by Kurt Vandenberghe, Director-General for Climate Action at the European Commission, representing the European Union; Li Gao, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment of China; and Cristina Reis, Extraordinary Secretary for Carbon Markets in Brazil. Germany and New Zealand joined as the first new members at the Florence meeting, with several other countries expected to follow. The ICAP Secretariat also attended and reaffirmed its willingness to support the Coalition's work, and expressed interest in joining the Coalition as an observer, pending a decision by ICAP members.

With the adoption of the Coalition's Terms of Reference, membership is open to countries operating nationwide compliance carbon markets – including emissions trading systems (ETSs) and carbon taxes. Subnational authorities with carbon pricing schemes, and other organizations working on similar objectives, may participate as observers.

Brazil will chair the Coalition for its first two years, with China and the European Commission serving as Co-Chairs. Key next steps include establishing the Coalition's Secretariat and developing a work plan, to be adopted at the Carbon Market Conference scheduled for 15 September 2026 in Wuhan, China. The Coalition's technical work will focus on strengthening monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems; improving carbon accounting methodologies; and exploring the potential use of high-integrity credits to preserve environmental integrity. 

The Coalition was first announced through the Declaration on the Open Coalition on Compliance Carbon Markets, adopted on 7 November 2025 during COP30 and subsequently endorsed by 17 countries and the European Union. As previously reported, the initiative was developed under Brazil's leadership and is designed to complement – rather  than duplicate – existing international carbon pricing platforms, including ICAP, the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge, the Carbon Pricing in the Americas initiative, and the Carbon Market Platform.