More than a buyer: Key features for centralised purchasing of international credits in the EU

The report examines the EU's 2040 climate target, which allows up to 5% of the 90% net reduction goal to be met via high-quality international credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement from 2036 to 2040. It advocates for centralised purchasing—via the European Commission or a dedicated body—over decentralised Member State procurement to leverage bargaining power, pool expertise, and link purchases to strategic partnerships. The authors warn of significant delivery risks due to strict Article 6 temporal rules, long project lead times, and the increasing tendency of partner countries to retain mitigation benefits for their own NDCs. Key recommendations include a structured procurement timeline starting with Member State notifications by 2030, a calibration report by 2034, and the use of strategic over-procurement to hedge against supply shortfalls. The report explicitly advises against allowing these credits for direct compliance under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) to maintain the system's integrity.

• The EU's 2040 climate target allows for a limited use of high-quality international credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, permitting up to 5% of the 90% net reduction goal to be met this way between 2036 and 2040.
• Centralised purchasing is preferred over decentralised procurement because it allows the EU to link credit purchases to transformative agreements and partnerships, prevents counterproductive competition, and increases efficiency through pooled technical expertise and bargaining power.
• There is a significant risk of international credit undersupply and underdelivery caused by strict Article 6 rules that prevent banking credits across periods, long project development cycles, and the rising opportunity cost for partner countries to sell credits rather than using them for their own NDCs.
• To manage supply risks, the report proposes a structured procurement timeline: Member States should notify their intended credit use by 2030, and the European Commission should provide an implementation report by 2034 to align national targets with actual contracted volumes.
• The report recommends that international credits be financed voluntarily by Member States as a limited flexibility for national targets, rather than being used for direct compliance under the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS).
• To hedge against delivery failures, the centralised purchasing entity should employ strategic over-procurement of credits beyond the direct demand of Member States.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (2026). More than a buyer: Key features for centralised purchasing of international credits in the EU. https://www.catf.us/resource/more-than-a-buyer-key-features-for-centralised-purchasing-of-international-credits-in-the-eu/

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. More than a buyer: Key features for centralised purchasing of international credits in the EU. 2026. https://www.catf.us/resource/more-than-a-buyer-key-features-for-centralised-purchasing-of-international-credits-in-the-eu/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=More than a buyer: Key features for centralised purchasing of international credits in the EU |date=13 July 2026 |url=https://www.catf.us/resource/more-than-a-buyer-key-features-for-centralised-purchasing-of-international-credits-in-the-eu/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce2026more, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{More than a buyer: Key features for centralised purchasing of international credits in the EU}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {2026}, month = jul, url = {https://www.catf.us/resource/more-than-a-buyer-key-features-for-centralised-purchasing-of-international-credits-in-the-eu/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }