Article 6 of the Paris Agreement enables countries to participate in market-based cooperation, and to authorize public and private entities to engage in such cooperation, towards achievement of the Paris Agreement’s goals. The Article 6.2 guidance enables cooperation involving internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), which are mitigation outcomes authorized by the host country for use towards (another country’s) Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), international mitigation or other purposes. The Article 6.4 Mechanism can be used to certify mitigation outcomes (emission reductions and removals) that meet international criteria as Article 6.4 Emission Reductions.

Authorization is a key step in enabling market-based cooperation under the Paris Agreement. Authorization commits the participating Parties to ensure environmental integrity, promote sustainable development, and apply robust accounting. For a host country, authorizing the use of ITMOs triggers an obligation to apply corresponding adjustments to its emissions balance, meaning that authorized mitigation outcomes are not counted towards its NDC.

To date, there has been a limited practical experience in the authorization process. Under the Gold Standard’s Article 6 Early Movers Programme, Perspectives Climate Group GmbH, and Atlas Environmental Law Advisory have supported activity developers in the process of preparing for authorizations under Article 6.2. This project included identifying and engaging with specific case studies, provision of technical support and sharing knowledge of the practical application of the Article 6.2 guidance on authorization.
The case studies selected for this support were a cookstove activity in Rwanda, a household biogas activity in Nepal, and a cookstove activity in Ghana. The support was mainly directed at the activity developers, but also included support to Article 6 focal points of the government in the three host countries.