UN greenlights first credits under Article 6.4 from Myanmar cookstove project

The UN has approved the first carbon credits under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, marking the operational launch of a global carbon market, seen by many as a turning point for emissions trading.

The credits emanate from a Myanmar cookstove project coordinated with South Korea that reduces household air pollution and eases pressure on local forests, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) said in a statement on Feb. 26.

The decision signals the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, also known as Article 6.4, has moved from the design phase into active operation, potentially opening new revenue streams for emission-reduction projects across multiple project categories.

"The opportunities presented by this UN carbon market across all regions are vast, particularly now that strong environmental safeguards, robust standards, and a clear system for redress are in place to ensure integrity, inclusiveness and efficiency," UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell said.

This comes almost 16 months after world leaders adopted the guidelines for a new carbon market at the UN Climate Change Conference in Baku in late November 2024. Article 6.4 sets out rules for a carbon crediting mechanism under which an entity can reduce emissions in one country, have the reductions credited, and then sell them to another entity in another country.

Transitioning from CDM

The credits were issued by the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, tasked with establishing a UN-led global carbon market.

Article 6.4 Supervisory Body Chair Mkhuthazi Steleki said his initial issuance used updated values and more conservative calculations.

"The result is consistent with environmental integrity requirements and ensures that each credited tonne genuinely represents a tonne reduced and contributes to the goals of the Paris Agreement," he added.

More than 165 host-party-approved projects are transitioning from the UN's Clean Development Mechanism into the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, spanning multiple sectors and regions, according to the UNFCCC.

The Myanmar cookstove project previously received provisional issuance under the CDM but has been recalculated using updated methodological approaches.

The project, known as the "CCC Program of Activities for Distribution of Improved Cookstoves in Developing South and Southeast Asia Countries (Myanmar)," has been registered under CDM number 10471, a UNFCCC spokesperson confirmed to Platts.

The spokesperson confirmed that the project has generated 58,428 mtCO2e credits for the period of Jan. 1, 2021, to May 31, 2022. This is approximately a 40% reduction in credit volumes from the Clean Development Mechanism provisional figure of 1,008,561 mtCO2e.

South Korea has been represented by the Climate Change Centre, a non-profit organization.

The approval remains subject to a 14-day appeal period during which participants, the host country and stakeholders directly affected by the project may submit appeals.

Progress on Article 6.4 has taken almost three years of heated negotiations and fraught talks with not only governments and policymakers but also several carbon market participants and stakeholders.

Platts, part of S&P Global Energy, assesses a wide range of high-quality voluntary carbon credit funding projects that demonstrate additionality, permanence, exclusive claim, and co-benefits.

The value of these credits can vary from CORSIA-eligible offsets (Platts CEC, $16/mtCO2e) to household device offsets ($1.80/mtCO2e) and US biochar offsets ($150/mtCO2e), Platts data showed Feb. 25.