COP29 breaks deadlock on Article 6.4, but UN emission trading still a year out

On Day 1 of COP29, Parties formalised standards for carbon credits that had been adopted by a UN technical authority in October – this represents a major step toward operationalisation of the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4, which lays the groundwork for trading of Internationally Transferable Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs, or “UN carbon credits”) among countries and companies. With the groundwork now laid, we examine the adopted documents’ potential to shape global carbon trading. Actual transactions of Article 6.4 units, however, is still a long way off.