Article 6.2
Countries swapping carbon credits
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement allows countries to increase mitigation ambition and achieve the targets set in their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) through international cooperation.
But actual Article 6 negotiations have focused almost entirely on the creation of carbon markets and carbon crediting programs.
At COP26 in Glasgow in 2021, countries agreed on a broad framework of rules to govern and implement international carbon market mechanisms based on Article 6.
This included agreement on Article 6.2, which allows countries to trade emission reductions and removals – internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs -- with each other through bilateral or multilateral agreements.
Rules governing Article 6.2 were finalized at COP29 in Baku in 2024, but they provide minimal guidance and don’t guarantee integrity.
During the 2025 mid-year climate conference in Bonn, countries with interests in carbon markets pushed hard for full operationalization of the Article 6 mechanisms. But no serious effort was made to deal with the problems of the weak Article 6.2 rulebook.
At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, countries focused on whether to request more detail and transparency in the “initial reports” which will govern Article 6.2 transactions between countries. But the COP30 decision only “notes” that there are ‘inconsistencies” with the requirements in those initial reports and requests the technical expert team to recommend how to resolve them.
CLARA works consistently to advance international cooperation on Non-market approaches under Paris Agreement Article 6.8. Read more about Article 6.8 here and on alternatives to carbon markets here.
How Effective are Article 6 Carbon Market Rules?
With agreement on Article 6.2 complete, countries began announcing bilateral agreements for carbon credits. Some of these deals may involve land, forests, agriculture and bioenergy, while others will be based on energy or transport.
But the relatively few rules governing Article 6.2 do not inspire confidence. CLARA member Carbon Market Watch questions the transparency, credit quality, and sustainable development benefits of potential 6.2 deals. CMW’s conclusion: “The Article 6.2 rulebook sets out a weak framework, scoring poorly across most of the evaluation criteria.”
Read Carbon Market Watch’s “Air of optimism at Bonn climate conference obscures troubling carbon market flaws”. CLARA’s companion media briefing from that June 2025 climate conference is here.
Also read their July 2025 report, “By the book: How effective are Article 6 carbon market rules” which examines both Article 6.2 and Article 6.4
CLARA is compiling a list of country-to-country carbon credit agreements that are moving forward under the Article 6.2 framework. New agreements are being announced all the time, although details are short. You can access that database here.