By Sarah McFarlane and Valerie Volcovici
SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt - U.S. climate envoy John Kerry on Wednesday announced the creation of a carbon offset plan that would help developing countries speed their transition away from fossil fuels.
Kerry launched the Energy Transition Accelerator (ETA) intended to act as a catalyst for private capital to accelerate the clean energy transition in developing countries.
The United States will develop the program with the Bezos Earth Fund and Rockefeller Foundation, with input from the public and private sectors which would operate through 2030 and possibly be extended to 2035.
Kerry said Chile and Nigeria are among the developing countries that have expressed early interest in the ETA, and that Bank of America, Microsoft, PepsiCo and Standard Chartered Bank have expressed interest in "informing the ETA's development."
Kerry said U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres was supportive of a U.S.-led carbon market initiative provided there were safeguards to it.
The two met earlier on Wednesday at the COP27 climate summit in Egypt.