A carbon market built through negotiation has entered operational territory.
The United Nations has approved the first issuance of credits under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, marking the point at which the new multilateral carbon market shifts from rulemaking to execution.
Architecture becomes throughput.
From design to execution
The initial issuance stems from a clean-cooking project in Myanmar distributing efficient cookstoves that reduce household air pollution and ease pressure on forests. The project is coordinated with authorized participants from the Republic of Korea, allowing a portion of the credits to flow into the Korean Emissions Trading System while the remainder supports Myanmar’s own Nationally Determined Contribution.
Cooperation moves into accounting.
More than 165 host-Party-approved projects are positioned to transition from the Clean Development Mechanism into the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, spanning waste, energy, industry and agriculture.
Pipeline replaces prototype.
Integrity recalibrated
The structural shift lies in how reductions are calculated.
According to the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, the credited reductions are roughly 40 percent lower than what would have been issued under the Clean Development Mechanism. Updated values and more conservative methodologies were applied to align with strengthened environmental integrity requirements under the Paris framework.
Volume yields to credibility.
The project had previously received provisional issuance under the CDM. Under Article 6.4, earlier investments are recognized but recalculated using revised baselines and updated science to ensure that each credited tonne corresponds to a verified reduction within the current context.
The baseline tightens.
Cross-border accounting
The issuance also demonstrates how Article 6.4 embeds national accounting into market transactions.
Credits authorized for use in the Republic of Korea may be transferred into its domestic emissions trading system and count toward its NDC, while the balance remains with Myanmar for its own targets. The transaction architecture integrates authorization, registry oversight and corresponding adjustments within a single procedural framework.
National ambition becomes interoperable.
Approval remains subject to a 14-day appeal period during which participants, the host country and affected stakeholders may submit objections.
Oversight remains procedural.
The credibility test
Private-sector demand has been building for Paris-aligned credits operating under clearer safeguards than earlier mechanisms. The first issuance provides a reference point for how reductions will be valued and verified under the new regime.
Confidence is being sequenced.
If subsequent issuances maintain conservative baselines while accelerating throughput, Article 6.4 could recalibrate expectations across global carbon markets. If methodological friction constrains volume, the system risks trading integrity for inactivity.
The market is now live. Scale will determine its authority.
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