Article 6 carbon markets at COP29

Carbon Market Watch argues that current Article 6.2 rules are too minimal, creating a "Wild West framework" for international carbon markets. The briefing recommends mandatory authorisation statements for cooperative approaches, stricter definitions of 'first transfer' to prevent delayed reporting, and the prohibition of authorisation revocations to avoid double counting. For Article 6.4, it urges the CMA to provide guidance to the Supervisory Body on minimum durability standards for removals, science-based risk assessments for reversals, and more robust additionality requirements, including mandatory common practice analysis.

• The current Article 6.2 framework is described as "minimal and toothless," which has led to it becoming a "Wild West framework for international carbon markets," exemplified by opaque deals from Blue Carbon and "hot air ITMOs" from Guyana.
• To ensure transparency and accountability, cooperative approaches must be authorised separately from individual Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) and accompanied by a mandatory authorisation statement provided upfront.
• The definition of 'first transfer' needs to be mandated at the earliest possible stage to prevent risks where ITMOs are used or cancelled before initial reports are submitted, which would obstruct the review process.
• To prevent double counting, the document recommends that no revocations or revisions to authorisations be permitted once ITMOs have been transferred, retired, or cancelled for Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) or other international mitigation purposes (OIMP).
• Regarding Article 6.4 removals, the briefing recommends requiring minimum durability standards for storage and a science-based, conservative risk assessment tool to determine when the risk of reversal is negligible.
• The document argues that additionality standards for Article 6.4 are currently not robust enough and should require a common practice analysis to always complement either investment or barrier analysis.
• Equity concerns are highlighted regarding the international registry; limiting its functionality to data transfer rather than transacting ITMOs could disadvantage countries in the Global South that lack national registries.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (n.d.). Article 6 carbon markets at COP29. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/10-2024_CMW-COP29-briefing-and-recommendations-on-Article-6.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Article 6 carbon markets at COP29. n.d. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/10-2024_CMW-COP29-briefing-and-recommendations-on-Article-6.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Article 6 carbon markets at COP29 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/10-2024_CMW-COP29-briefing-and-recommendations-on-Article-6.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{carbonmarketwatchndarticle, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Article 6 carbon markets at COP29}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/10-2024_CMW-COP29-briefing-and-recommendations-on-Article-6.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }