Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the Integrity Council’s work

The Paris Agreement, agreed by 195 countries in 2016, created a new framework for how countries should cooperate to set and achieve climate targets. The Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) complement this framework by providing consistent integrity standards across international carbon markets.

As part of the Paris Agreement, Article 6 lays out rules and guidance for countries to cooperate with each other to achieve their national emissions reductions targets via carbon crediting and carbon trading between governments. This gives countries the tools to work collaboratively and mobilise finance for projects that reduce and remove emissions while also delivering adaptation and sustainable development co-benefits.

Established at COP26 in Glasgow, the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market is an independent governance body for the voluntary carbon market (VCM). Its Core Carbon Principles and related Assessment Framework together make up the first independent global standard for high-integrity carbon credits. The Integrity Council aims to provide standards and assurance for the voluntary carbon market that complement Article 6 and support companies and individuals to go further in their climate action.

It is critical that policy frameworks governing carbon market activity, including Article 6 and our Core Carbon Principles, align across compliance and voluntary markets. Here we explain how Article 6 and the Core Carbon Principles work together to speed up climate action.

What is Article 6?

Article 6 has two market-related parts:

Article 6.2: trading carbon credits between governments

Article 6.2 provides a framework for how countries approve and report cross-border trading of emissions reductions and removals. The guidance requires countries to report on how they make use of carbon markets to help achieve their Paris Agreement targets (called Nationally Determined Contributions – NDCs). The accounting system also requires countries to report any emissions reductions or removals that they have transferred to or received from other countries to make sure there is no double counting.

Emissions reductions or removals transferred through the 6.2 system are called ITMOs (Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes).

Article 6.4: A UNFCCC-governed carbon-crediting program

The Article 6.4 rules lay out a UN-hosted carbon-crediting program called the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, which will succeed the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism. As of October 2024, the Article 6.4 mechanism is still under development, but it is structured similarly to carbon-crediting programs in the independent voluntary carbon market, with a governance structure, requirements for developing carbon projects (including standards and approved methodologies), and a registry system.

Carbon credits issued under these rules are called A6.4 Emission Reductions.

What are the Integrity Council’s Core Carbon Principles and Assessment Framework?

The 10 Core Carbon Principles (CCPs) establish an independent global standard for high integrity in the voluntary carbon market. The Integrity Council uses the rules set out in its Assessment Framework to assess independent carbon-crediting programs and their methodologies for adherence to the CCPs. These have been developed through a multi-stakeholder process with representatives from civil society, markets, governments and other standards bodies both from the global north and south.

The CCPs and Assessment Framework build on and align with discussions under Article 6. The Integrity Council continues to closely follow this to work to ensure that the whole market (whether international under Article 6, or independent under the Integrity Council) is transparent and aligned to high integrity principles.

Independent carbon-crediting programs found to be ‘CCP-Eligible’ can tag carbon credits with the CCP label if they are generated by projects using ‘CCP-Approved’ methodologies. After approving programs and the methodologies they use, the Integrity Council provides assurance that they continue to comply with the CCP criteria. This is done through spot checks and periodic reviews of programs, reviewing public reports, analysing market data and examining any allegations relating to the conduct of CCP-eligible programs.

From the very start of the Integrity Council, we have taken steps to closely align with the UN processes. Former UNFCCC negotiators and world-renowned Article 6 experts are on our governing board and our independent expert panel and were closely involved in the development of the CCPs and Assessment Framework. We are committed to aligning with or exceeding Article 6 guidance, the development of which our expert teams are following closely. In addition, we have made publicly available submissions to the Article 6.4 body on how the CCPs and Assessment Framework align with Article 6 guidance.

How do Article 6 and the Integrity Council work together?

We need consistent rules that are aligned across all international carbon markets to enable high-integrity carbon credits to play their part in helping to meet global climate targets.

The CCPs offer complementary guidance and frameworks to help the development of carbon markets under Article 6 in several ways:

1 – Increasing alignment across international carbon markets

Article 6 does not directly regulate the voluntary carbon market and does not set any requirements for carbon credit quality in the voluntary space. This is where the Integrity Council comes in.

The Integrity Council oversees independent carbon-crediting programs that it has assessed as CCP-Eligible to ensure they maintain the high-integrity criteria. These carbon crediting programs issue credits used for voluntary climate action by organisations. By ensuring credit quality is aligned between the Article 6 governance system and a high-integrity voluntary carbon market, a market-wide shift to higher integrity will follow, with trust in market mechanisms mutually reinforcing the Article 6 and voluntary carbon market spaces.

2 – The CCPs enable countries to use existing voluntary carbon market infrastructure for Article 6 trading

We encourage governments and regulators to use the CCPs as a reference for credit quality when designing market policies and engaging in Article 6 cooperation.

In some cases, countries trading ITMOS under Article 6.2 rely on carbon credits issued by independent carbon-crediting programs. For example, in Singapore companies can use credits issued by independent programs to comply with the national carbon tax that they have to pay, if those credits pass a set of additional criteria. Article 6.2 sets out several high-level integrity criteria for carbon trading in its framework but leaves it to the countries involved to specify how these criteria are implemented.

In these instances, countries can reference ICVCM rules or directly make use of CCP-labelled credits to decide which credits to approve for trading.

Relying on CCP-eligible programs, methodologies and credits gives countries confidence in the quality of what is being transacted, helps save resources, and builds trust in the Article 6 markets as underpinned by robust integrity practices.

3 – The Integrity Council’s independent global standard supports countries and the private sector to transition to Article 6 markets

Our Assessment Framework provides a reference point for any country looking to develop a high-integrity domestic carbon market framework. This supports countries in developing strategies that harness the potential of the voluntary carbon market as a tool for attracting both public and private carbon finance for domestic decarbonisation and sustainable development.

It also helps build market readiness for countries considering future Article 6 cooperation, including private sector actors – project developer, verifiers, intermediaries and independent crediting programs.

What’s next?

Together, the CCPs and Article 6 create the conditions for a virtuous cycle of improvement in carbon markets. Both CCPs and Article 6 are needed to ensure that governments and corporates can deliver high-integrity climate finance.

We will continue to support and encourage Article 6 processes and engage with the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, the UNFCCC, UN agencies, multilateral development banks and other stakeholders to ensure a coherent approach to high integrity.

As part of the Integrity Council’s Continuous Improvement Work Programs (CIWPs), we will also continue to consult widely, including with governments, on the CCPs and Assessment Framework to ensure that they remain aligned with or exceed the integrity of existing and developing Article 6 guidance.