Climate 411

Selected tag(s): Article 6

Importing carbon international credits to the EU: How to make it work?

By István Bart and Pedro Martins Barata

EU flags waving

Join EDF on Monday, October 20 for the webinar EU Pathways for International Carbon Credits on Zoom

As the European Union sets a new climate goal for 2040, a key question is whether the EU should use carbon credits from outside Europe to help meet that goal. The European Commission’s July 2025 proposal intends to reopen the door to credits for the first time in over a decade. Still, it remains vague on exactly how importing should be done – that is, who should import, how much and where should the imported credits be used? Now is the time to get the design right. 

EDF’s latest publication, International Credits in the EU: Strategic Choices & Practical Implementation’, explores these questions.  It argues that if done well, importing credits could be a practical way for Europe to keep target compliance costs manageable, protect its climate ambition, and increase its influence in international climate policy. But the details matter – doing it right means we’d need strong rules on quality, clear conditions for if/when credits would be used, and a coordinated EU system to manage purchases and credit use.  

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Economics, Energy, International / Also tagged , , , | Authors: / Comments are closed

At COP29, Article 6 must deliver on urgent finance for forests and Indigenous communities

This blog was authored by Pedro Martins Barata, Associate Vice President, Carbon Markets and Private Sector Decarbonization and Santiago García Lloré, Senior Manager, IPLC & Conservation Partnerships, Forests

UN Climate Change, Kamran-Guliyev/ Flickr

At the start of COP29, negotiators in Baku secured a major breakthrough by agreeing on new standards for a UN-led global carbon market under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, potentially unlocking billions in funding for climate projects.

But the terms of the standards are still flexible, meaning there’s a real chance to shape them to make sure the money goes where it’s needed most – like Indigenous Peoples and local communities who are fighting to conserve the planet’s last intact forests, known as high forest, low deforestation (HFLD) regions.

The stakes are higher now than ever, especially after the recent US election, which casts doubt on future public climate funding from one of the world’s biggest economies. In this uncertain landscape, carbon markets must step up to fund critical climate solutions, especially nature-based projects like forest conservation.

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Forest protection, Indigenous People, Paris Agreement, REDD+, United Nations / Also tagged , , , | Authors: , / Comments are closed

Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement: What is High Integrity and Why It Matters

Under the Paris Agreement, Article 6.2 allows countries to exchange emissions reductions and removals through bilateral agreements—country to country. Despite stalled progress on final details for Article 6.2 at COP28, the mechanism is in operation with guardrails that push countries toward high-integrity programs. New bilateral agreements continue to emerge under the mechanism and mobilize needed capital.

In a webinar hosted by Browning Environmental Communications and Environmental Defense Fund (available to stream here), we discussed the key elements of high integrity under Article 6.2, and why it’s critical for effective climate action under the rule.

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Posted in Carbon Markets, Paris Agreement / Tagged | Comments are closed

Progress & Next Steps on Article 6: Looking ahead to COP28

This blog was co-authored by Maggie Ferrato, Manager, Global Climate Cooperation and Pedro Martins Barata, Associate Vice President, Carbon Markets & Private Sector Decarbonization.
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