COP29 approves global carbon market under Paris Agreement's Article 6

In a landmark decision at the first day of the global climate talks here, COP29 have officially adopted the new operational standards for a mechanism of the Paris Agreement under Article 6, setting the stage for a global carbon market.

This adoption of article 6.4, achieved during the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), sets the stage for operationalising Article 6, which has faced years of deadlock.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement facilitates international collaboration to lower carbon emissions.

It offers two pathways for countries and companies to trade carbon offsets, supporting the achievement of emission reduction targets set in their climate action plans, or nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The first option, known as Article 6.2, allows two countries to establish a bilateral carbon trading agreement under their own terms.