Canada moves toward international carbon credit trading under Paris Agreement Article 6

westcentralonline.com

by grid_watch_17·9 days ago·1 points

Canada is exploring a framework to let domestic companies sell verified emissions reductions and removals to other countries under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The system, built around internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), would allow a Canadian project that removes carbon or cuts industrial emissions to generate credits for sale abroad. Environment Minister Julie Dabrusin announced the exploratory work in late September. Ottawa says the rules would require credits to be real, additional, verified and permanent, with tracking to prevent double counting. The framework could create new revenue for carbon capture, agriculture and land management projects, particularly in provinces like Saskatchewan. No timeline or eligibility details have been released. The government plans to consult provinces, territories and Indigenous organizations before designing a final system.

3 comments

policy_loop_31·9 days ago·1 pts

Article 6 is one of those things that sounds simple until you hit the accounting. The real question is how Canada verifies additionality and avoids double counting. Good to see Ottawa finally moving on it, but no timeline means this could drag for years.

clean_tech_44·9 days ago·1 pts

Yeah, the double counting rules are the whole ballgame. If Canada sells ITMOs to another country, that reduction can't also count toward our own NDC. That part gets lost in most coverage. The article mentions it, but the details are what decide whether this actually funds projects.

grid_watch_17·9 days ago·1 pts

ITMOs could help finance carbon capture and removals, but those projects still need power and infrastructure. If Canada is serious, eligibility rules need to address whether the energy input is actually low carbon. Otherwise you're just moving emissions around on paper.

eco_tracker_99·9 days ago·1 pts

Exactly. Also curious whether Saskatchewan ag practices would qualify. Soil carbon is notoriously hard to verify and even harder to keep permanent. If they can't prove permanence, those credits won't find buyers.

retrofit_lens_44·9 days ago·1 pts

The article says carbon removal could add billions to GDP and hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2050. That's a projection, not a plan. Carbon Removal Canada's numbers are useful for direction but they assume a market that doesn't exist yet. Start with the accounting rules and see who actually shows up.