Can an Indian project sell carbon credits to buyers in other countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement?

What Article 6 is

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement lets countries cooperate on meeting their climate targets, including by trading emission reductions. It has three parts.

• Article 6.2 covers deals between countries. Reductions moved from one country to another are called internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs. Their use toward a target must be voluntary and authorised by the countries involved.
• Article 6.4 sets up a mechanism run under the United Nations, with a Supervisory Body of twelve members, that registers projects and issues credits. It is the successor to the Clean Development Mechanism.
• Article 6.8 covers cooperation that does not involve trading, such as finance and technology transfer.

The detailed rules were agreed in Glasgow in 2021 and refined at later conferences in Sharm el-Sheikh, Baku and Belem.

Authorisation and corresponding adjustments

Authorisation. A tonne reduced in India can count toward another country’s target only if India authorises it. Since the Baku decision in 2024, an authorisation has to state, among other things, its date and duration, the uses it covers, and the quantity where that applies.

Corresponding adjustment. When India authorises a transfer, it adds the same quantity back to its own reported emissions. The buyer counts the reduction, India does not, and the tonne is counted once. Every authorised transfer carries this cost for the host country, which is why countries choose carefully what they authorise.

Credits under the Article 6.4 mechanism that are not authorised are called mitigation contribution credits. No adjustment applies to them. They can support results based finance or domestic schemes in the host country. They cannot be used toward another country’s target unless the host authorises them later, before any transfer, with the adjustment applied as if from issuance.

What India has decided

India notified the National Designated Authority for the Implementation of the Paris Agreement on 30 May 2022. It decides which kinds of project may take part in international carbon markets. A Ministry presentation in September 2025 records that the notification was amended on 22 August 2025 to reflect the Baku decisions, and that the Authority authorises use of reductions toward other countries’ targets and other international purposes.

On 17 February 2023 the Ministry announced the activities to be considered for trading under Article 6.2:

• Renewable energy with storage, for the stored component only
• Solar thermal power
• Offshore wind
• Green hydrogen and green ammonia
• Compressed biogas
• Emerging mobility such as fuel cells
• High end energy efficiency technology
• Sustainable aviation fuel
• Best available technology for process improvement in hard to abate sectors
• Tidal, ocean thermal, salt gradient, wave and current energy
• High voltage direct current transmission with renewable energy
• Carbon capture, utilisation and storage

India’s list for the Article 6.4 mechanism carries the same activities and adds clean cooking using renewable energy at scale, for government or public private partnership projects only. Both lists were set for an initial three years and may be revised by the Authority.

Two things are not on the list. Renewable energy without storage, and afforestation or land restoration. The Ministry describes the listed activities as ones that involve additional cost compared with their carbon intensive alternative, which is where international finance makes the most difference.

India’s agreements so far

• Japan. A Memorandum of Cooperation on the Joint Crediting Mechanism was signed on 7 August 2025. Its Rules of Implementation, under Article 6.2, were adopted on 8 June 2026, covering a joint committee, project approval, third party validation and verification, and registries.
• Korea. A memorandum on cooperation under Article 6.2 was among the outcomes of the Korean President’s state visit in April 2026.

Where the United Nations mechanism stands

• Its first methodology, for landfill gas, was approved in October 2025.
• The first issuance of credits was approved on 26 February 2026, for a clean cooking activity in Myanmar.
• At issuance, 5 per cent of credits go to the Adaptation Fund, and a minimum of 2 per cent are cancelled so that the mechanism delivers an overall reduction rather than only moving one.
• Clean Development Mechanism activities could apply to move across. The deadline for host country approval of those moves was extended at Belem to 30 June 2026.

The domestic market alongside it

India’s Carbon Credit Trading Scheme added an offset mechanism in December 2023, under which projects can earn Carbon Credit Certificates. The scheme allows its steering committee to recommend guidelines for trading certificates outside India and the registry to link with international registries once approved. In March 2025 the government approved the procedure and the first eight offset methodologies, including renewable energy, green hydrogen, landfill methane and mangrove afforestation. We have not found published guidelines for trading certificates outside India.

What this means for a project developer

• Start from the list. A project type on India’s list can be considered for authorisation. One that is not on it can still earn voluntary or domestic credits, without a corresponding adjustment.
• Know which credit you are selling. An authorised, adjusted tonne and a non authorised one are different products for different buyers, and the contract should say which it is.
• Read the current list, not the 2023 one. It was set for three years from February 2023 and can change.

For us, compressed biogas, green hydrogen and ocean energy sit on the list, and land restoration sits in the voluntary and domestic markets. Our approach to carbon on leased land is set out on the carbon rights page, and the difference between kinds of credit in avoidance and removal credits.

Article 6 rules and India’s lists are revised regularly. Confirm the current position with the National Designated Authority before relying on this page.

Related questions

What is a corresponding adjustment?

When a country authorises an emission reduction to be transferred abroad, it adds that quantity back to its own reported emissions, so the reduction counts toward the buyer's target and not its own. This accounting step is set out in decision 2/CMA.3 from Glasgow in 2021, and it is what prevents the same tonne being claimed by two countries.

What is a mitigation contribution credit?

It is a credit under the Article 6.4 mechanism that the host country has not authorised for use toward another country's target or other international purposes. No corresponding adjustment applies. Under decision 7/CMA.4 it can be used for results based climate finance or domestic schemes that support reductions in the host country. It counts toward another country's target only if the host authorises it later, before any transfer.

Which Indian activities are listed for Article 6 trading?

A list announced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change on 17 February 2023 names thirteen activities to be considered under Article 6.2, including renewable energy with storage (only the stored component), solar thermal, offshore wind, green hydrogen, compressed biogas, sustainable aviation fuel, ocean energy, green ammonia and carbon capture. It was set for an initial three years and may be revised.