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Plain English. Technical adds agenda codes and official documents.Agenda codes, document names and formal wording, for people who follow the process.

Carbon markets · Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part a · Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part b · Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part c

Can a country pay another to cut emissions for it?

Article 6: cooperative approaches, the Article 6.4 mechanism and non-market approaches

of the lets one country pay for emission cuts in another and count them towards its own target. Companies can also buy credits from a UN-run system.

The main rules were agreed at COP29 in Baku. At COP31 countries look at how they are working in practice and fix the gaps.

Further guidance on cooperative approaches under Article 6.2, on the Article 6.4 mechanism and on the work programme for non-market approaches under Article 6.8.

Core guidance for Articles 6.2 and 6.4 was completed at CMA 6 in Baku. The CMA 8 items review implementation and the Supervisory Body’s report.

Talks resume on 9 NovemberResumes at COP31, 9 November

Why it matters

If the rules are weak, the same tonne of CO2 can be counted twice and nothing really changes for the climate.

How we got here

2015
COP21, Paris
Article 6 allows countries to cooperate on emission cuts, including by trading them.
2021
COP26, Glasgow
The core rules for Article 6 are agreed after six years of talks.
2024
COP29, Baku
The remaining details are finished, so the UN crediting system can start working.
2026
June talks, Bonn
Bonn worked on making the system run. The infrastructure behind country-to-country trades faces a funding gap, and several decisions were passed on to COP31. Source

Where COP31 picks up: The rules are written. COP31 looks at how they work in practice.

Have COPs worked? The bigger picture →

What they will argue aboutOpen issues

Are the credits real? How to check that a cut is real, permanent and not counted twice.
How open is the market? How much information countries must publish about the deals they make.

6.2. Inconsistencies flagged in technical expert reviews, transparency of agreements.
6.4. Supervisory Body standards, methodologies and transition of CDM activities.

Agenda items

Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part aGuidance on cooperative approaches (Article 6.2)

Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part bMechanism under Article 6.4

Paris Agreement agenda, item 16, part cNon-market approaches (Article 6.8)

From the provisional agendas, FCCC/CP/2026/1 and FCCC/PA/CMA/2026/1. Draft texts, versions and bracket counts appear here once talks open.

What has happened so farStatus log

This question carries on from COP30 (see How we got here, above). Talks resume on 9 November: from then, every new draft and every change of status is listed here, with the time and a link to the document.

Only on WhatTheCOP

Want to hear it discussed? Pavilion sessions on this

Mon 9 Nov · 15:30SS6 – STRATEGIC DIALOGUE "INDONESIA'S CARBON MARKET OUTLOOK"
Indonesia Pavilion Mon 9 Nov · 19:00D-TBD-03 – CARBON MARKETS
Indonesia Pavilion Tue 10 Nov · 10:00From Carbon Markets to Transition Finance: Navigating the New Climate Economy
Türkiye Pavilion Tue 10 Nov · 10:45CARBON CONNECTION SESSION
Indonesia Pavilion Tue 10 Nov · 12:00B1 – FROM OCEAN TO MARKET: UNLOCKING THE BLUE CARBON FOR CLIMATE ACTION AND SUSTAINABLE FINANCE
Indonesia Pavilion Wed 11 Nov · 10:45CARBON CONNECTION SESSION
Indonesia Pavilion

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