Arab Press

بالشعب و للشعب
Sunday, Aug 31, 2025

COP29 Climate Summit: What Is A Carbon Credit? What Is Article 6? Top Questions Answered

The COP29 Climate Summit in Azerbaijan is tackling a major climate initiative: establishing a global system for trading carbon offset credits. Here’s a simplified explanation of what this involves and why it matters:
What are Carbon Offsets?

Carbon offsets are a tool used by some governments and companies to meet their climate targets, which involve reducing greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming. If these entities struggle to reduce their own emissions directly, they can buy carbon offsets.

These offsets are investments in projects elsewhere that reduce emissions, like installing solar panels in rural areas or switching buses from petrol to electric. Essentially, buying an offset is meant to balance out the buyer's emissions by funding a reduction in emissions somewhere else.


What is Article 6?

Article 6 is a part of the Paris Agreement, which is a global treaty committed to reducing climate change. It outlines how countries can cooperate to meet their emission reduction targets. There are two main mechanisms under Article 6:

Article 6.2: Allows two countries to agree directly on how they will trade carbon credits with each other.

Article 6.4: Aims to establish a UN-managed central system for trading carbon credits. This would help ensure that money from carbon trading can support developing countries, and it could keep functioning globally even if some countries, like the US under certain administrations, pull back from the Paris Agreement.

Progress So Far At the COP26 summit in Glasgow, a basic framework for trading carbon credits was agreed upon. However, specifics on how to implement a central trading system and rules for bilateral trades were not finalized at COP28 in Dubai. Some countries, such as Japan and Indonesia, are moving forward with their own bilateral agreements despite the lack of clarity.


What's at Stake at COP29?

This year’s summit is focused on finalizing the rules for Article 6. This includes setting up 'guardrails'—rules to make sure that when countries trade emissions reductions, those reductions are real and verifiable. Negotiators will discuss how the UN’s central registry should function, whether it should just track credits or actively manage transactions.

Implications for the Voluntary Carbon Market Beyond governmental agreements, there is also a voluntary carbon market where companies that are not legally required to reduce their emissions buy credits to meet self-set climate goals. This market saw a significant drop in value due to scandals affecting its credibility. Integrating projects from this market into the UN-managed system could restore confidence. Credits approved under the UN system are expected to be more valuable.

The decisions made at COP29 could pave the way for a more robust and reliable system of carbon credit trading, aligning both mandatory and voluntary efforts with the global goals set in the Paris Agreement.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Arab Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
Iranian Protection Offers Chinese Vehicle Shipments a Cost Advantage over Japanese and Korean Makers
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Private Welsh island with 19th-century fort listed for sale at over £3 million
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
JPMorgan and Coinbase Unveil Partnership to Let Chase Cardholders Buy Crypto Directly
British Tourist Dies Following Hair Transplant in Turkey, Police Investigate
WhatsApp Users Targeted in New Scam Involving Account Takeovers
Trump Deploys Nuclear Submarines After Threats from Former Russian President Medvedev
Germany’s Economic Breakdown and the Return of Militarization: From Industrial Collapse to a New Offensive Strategy
Germany Enters Fiscal Crisis as Cabinet Approves €174 Billion in New Debt
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
Japanese Prime Minister Vows to Stay After Coalition Loses Upper House Majority
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
Man Dies After Being Pulled Into MRI Machine Due to Metal Chain in New York Clinic
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
×