UN backs landfill gas as first Article 6.4 methodology to transition from CDM

The UN has approved a methane emissions project type as the first methodology under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, the The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change said late Oct. 30.

"This is a breakthrough for the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism -- the first practical application of a Paris-aligned crediting," said Martin Hession, chair of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body.

The Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism methodology outlines how methane emissions from landfill gas sites can be managed and qualify for UN-backed carbon credits, according to the Supervisory Body.

The update to the Clean Development Mechanism methodology for landfill gas, which builds on the ACM001 methodology, received approval following a two-day meeting of the Supervisory Body over Oct. 29-30, during which the next steps for the PACM were discussed.

The UN body said that further methodologies are expected to follow, including renewable energy.

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement sets out the rules for global trade in greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

It is seen as an essential enabler of international emissions trading, providing countries and businesses with a key pathway to meet and accelerate their climate goals.

"Starting from landfill methane, we're showing how carbon markets aligned to the Paris Agreement can deliver real-world solutions," Hession said.

The Supervisory Body also said it will adopt an investment analysis tool, requiring project developers to demonstrate additionality by showing that their activities would not be viable without revenue from carbon credits.

"This ensures that credits are only issued for actions that go beyond business as usual and genuinely contribute to climate goals," said the UNFCCC.

Article 6.4 specifically allows a company in one country to reduce emissions domestically and have those reductions credited so that it can sell them to a different company in another country.

COP30

At the 30th UN climate conference in Belem, Brazil, the Supervisory Body will present its annual report to Parties to the Paris Agreement.

The parties will be able to clarify or expand the report's mandate and guide future work on new methodologies and market rules.

It is expected that the focus will shift from setting new targets to evaluating whether current commitments are ambitious enough and can actually be implemented.

Last year, the UN reached a milestone agreement on Article 6.4 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The focus has since moved to operationalization of the registry, with several Supervisory Body meetings working toward this goal.

So far, the Supervisory Body has reached key decisions on new standards or how projects measure their impact, as well as a reversal standard aimed at ensuring climate gains are not lost over time.

The recent decision on the reversal rules has sparked mixed reactions from stakeholders, but a middle ground seems likely with the establishment of buffer pools and third-party guarantees seen as key for helping the mechanism move ahead.