Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) will meet in Madrid, Spain, in December 2019 to finalise the rule book for the Paris Agreement, among other tasks. An essential element of discussions concerns Article 6, which provides for international cooperation through carbon markets. This working paper provides an overview of the key remaining issues being negotiated under Article 6; it explains each issue, what Parties disagree on, and what is at stake.
The rules related to Article 6 can have a large impact on the ways in which countries’ climate commitments are achieved and the resulting emissions reductions. Strong rules are needed to ensure that double counting is avoided and that environmental integrity is preserved. With strong rules, Article 6 could also support higher ambition in mitigation and adaptation action. A failure to agree on effective Article 6 rules, in light of the number of countries that signalled the use of carbon markets in their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), will certainly weaken the achievement of Paris Agreement’s goals and compromise its ambition.