What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement

This guide explains Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which governs international carbon markets. It details how these markets allow countries to trade emissions reductions to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), while highlighting critical risks such as double-counting and the need for additionality to ensure environmental integrity.

• Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is divided into three operative paragraphs: Article 6.2 provides an accounting framework for international cooperation and the transfer of carbon credits; Article 6.4 creates a central UN mechanism for trading credits from specific emissions-reduction projects; and Article 6.8 establishes a work program for non-market approaches, such as emissions taxes.
• Well-designed carbon markets could provide significant economic and environmental benefits, including estimated cost savings of $250 billion per year by 2030 according to IETA. Additionally, 31% of global emissions are covered by the initial NDCs of the half of all countries that include international cooperation through carbon markets.

APA

World Resources Institute (2019). What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. https://www.wri.org/insights/what-you-need-know-about-article-6-paris-agreement

Chicago

World Resources Institute. What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. 2019. https://www.wri.org/insights/what-you-need-know-about-article-6-paris-agreement.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement |date=2 December 2019 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/what-you-need-know-about-article-6-paris-agreement |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2019what, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{What You Need to Know About Article 6 of the Paris Agreement}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2019}, month = dec, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/what-you-need-know-about-article-6-paris-agreement}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }