On November 11, 2024, one of the first substantive outcomes of the 29th Session of the UN Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29) was approved. The President of COP19 introduced a draft decision of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA) Bodies. The decision took note of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body’s adoption of two standards (one on “methodologies” and one on “removals”), while also reiterating the authority of the Supervisory Body to prepare the rules for the implementation of Article 6.4.

Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement aims to replace the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol, and to establish a global carbon credit market to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The standards prepared by the Supervisory Body establish criteria for the implementation of this global market, and aim for a uniform approach for two elements of the mechanism: (i) the development and evaluation of the methodologies applicable to Article 6.4; and (ii) the requirements for activities involving GHG removals under the Article 6.4 mechanism. These standards will assist project developers in creating and submitting their methodologies, and allow projects to be registered under the Article 6.4 mechanism.

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