Article 6 seeks its place among carbon markets

摘要

The new carbon credit markets under Article 6 of the Paris climate agreement are likely to see some advancement at the UN Cop 28 climate conference in Dubai in November-December, intensifying the spotlight on what this means for the future of the voluntary carbon market (VCM) and emissions trading systems (ETS). The two market segments under Article 6 are still being fleshed out. Article 6.2, which has seen little activity so far, allows bilateral government agreements to generate internationally traded mitigation outcomes between countries or private entities. And the more regulated Article 6.4 provides for a centralised carbon credit platform run by UN climate body the UNFCCC, to essentially replace the Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism (CDM)-although the set-up of the platform has been repeatedly delayed. Agreement on the methodologies underpinning the credits has been postponed to 2024 at the earliest, with the supervisory body aiming to have the methodology requirements approved at Cop 28.