UN issues first credits under Article 6.4's Pacm

Spanish Market: Emissions
26/02/26

The first carbon credits to be issued under the UN's new Paris agreement credit mechanism (Pacm) have been approved by the Article 6.4 supervisory body, UN climate arm the UNFCCC said on Thursday.

The project, a clean cookstove project in Myanmar financed by South Korean companies, is the first to be approved among 165 projects that have transitioned to Pacm from its predecessor the clean development mechanism (CDM), which will close at the end of this year.

Myanmar has authorised the project for use in countries' nationally determined contributions (NDCs) — climate plans — under the Paris agreement, as well as in the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (Corsia).

The UNFCCC expects the resulting mitigation credits to be used by South Korea against its NDC, with some of the credits also to be used towards Myanmar's NDC.

The project was registered under the CDM in 2019 and received a provisional issuance by the CDM, before being de-registered last year. It is set to run from 2018-46.The more conservative methodologies applied under Pacm mean that the project will see a 41pc reduction in its initially stipulated credit volume, falling to about 42,000 t/yr CO2 equivalent.

This is mainly owing to the application of new values for the so-called fraction of non-renewable biomass (FNRB), which were reduced to 36pc under a CDM tool updated last year from 90pc under the CDM, and are in the process of being integrated into Pacm rules.

The higher the FNRB, the more the share of biomass used by households before they switch to clean cooking options is assumed to be causing deforestation or forest degradation, leading to the generation of more credits by the project in question.

The approval of the credits is subject to a 14-day appeal and grievance period under Pacm rules, allowing activity participants, the host country and stakeholders directly affected by the project to submit an appeal or air a grievance.

The UNFCCC said a "wide variety" of "real-world" climate projects are already in line to follow "across multiple countries and sectors such as waste management, energy, industry, agriculture and more".

The opportunities presented by Pacm are "vast, particularly now that strong environmental safeguards, robust standards and a clear system for redress are in place to ensure integrity, inclusiveness and efficiency", UNFCCC executive secretary Simon Stiell said.

Starting with a clean cooking project is a "fitting demonstration of what the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism can do — support activities that bring clear co-benefits for people, such as better indoor air quality, while reducing emissions," Article 6.4 supervisory body vice-chair Jacqui Ruesga said.

By Chloe Jardine

Related news posts

Argus illuminates the markets by putting a lens on the areas that matter most to you. The market news and commentary we publish reveals vital insights that enable you to make stronger, well-informed decisions. Explore a selection of news stories related to this one.

26/02/26

US refiners warn EPA against late fuel waivers

New York, 26 February (Argus) — A group of US oil refiners that warned against a costly shift to a boutique fuel blend in the midcontinent want President Donald Trump's administration to let the states transition as planned this summer to avoid market turmoil. The Midwestern bloc was supposed to move last year to the lower-volatility summertime fuel, which would allow retailers to keep selling both typical 10pc ethanol gasoline (E10) and blends with up to 15pc ethanol (E15). But the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) punted the shift just days before summer driving season, frustrating fuel makers and distributors that had already invested millions to move to the boutique blend. "Fuel suppliers should not be put in the same situation again this year", the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) told EPA on Wednesday, according to a letter shared with Argus . The risk of changing rules remains. While seven states are still set to transition, Ohio backed out last month. Midwestern governors that previously saw the fuel shift as a way to help out corn farmers and pressure oil refiners to lobby for simpler federal E15 rules are now staring down the possibility of higher pump prices in an election year. Any other states that want to cancel the fuel change should have to make a request to do so immediately, according to the refiner group, and at the very least before pipelines start requiring the special blend by 1 April. EPA justified emergency waivers last summer aborting the midcontinent fuel change and allowing E15 gasoline across the country by warning of "extreme and unusual fuel supply circumstances caused by global conflicts". But AFPM warned EPA that such a move this year would be on shakier legal footing, pointing to data showing ample gasoline stocks across the US. The refiners' advocacy comes as a council of Republicans in the US House of Representatives has missed multiple deadlines for reaching agreement on biofuel policy reforms. Earlier drafts circulated by the task force floated allowing year-round E15 sales nationwide and stopping the Midwestern states' transition. The Clean Air Act exempts E10 from summertime smog rules that would otherwise prevent its sale but does not extend the same treatment to E15, despite a similar volatility profile. The midcontinent states as a workaround won EPA approval to opt out of the special treatment for E10, effectively putting E10 and E15 on equal footing by requiring lower-volatility blendstocks for both. The consequence is more complicated logistics for refiners, which may have to cut production of butane, which raises volatility, or invest in infrastructure to store and transport excess supplies. The states approved to move to the lower-volatility gasoline this summer are Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Kansas has signaled it could join them in the future. By Cole Martin Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

EU consults on state aid, including for hydrogen, CCS

25/02/26

EU consults on state aid, including for hydrogen, CCS

Brussels, 25 February (Argus) — The European Commission is consulting on updated rules to assess whether EU states have properly followed the bloc's state aid laws. The commission aims to adopt the rules, which also lay out conditions for state aid for climate mitigation, before the current ones expire on 31 December 2026. The "more streamlined" rules, proposed under the EU's general block exemption regulation (GBER), also aim to exempt certain state aid from prior notification and commission approval. For climate aid, under €30mn ($35mn) per firm and per project will be exempt from EU notification and approval. But the rule does not apply to aid for investments in equipment or machinery using fossil fuels including natural gas. For state aid to investments for hydrogen and hydrogen-derived fuels, the aided fuels must be either renewable fuels of non-biological origin or low-carbon fuels as defined by EU law. And investment in carbon capture and storage (CCS) or use (CCU) has to be for a complete CCS and/or CCU chain. Aid intensities shall not normally exceed 5pc of costs for decarbonising existing installations. But higher aid intensities of up to 60pc for hydrogen, or 45pc for energy storage and CCS, are allowed for investments, notably if cutting greenhouse gas emissions of a technical unit by at least 90pc. The consultation runs until 23 April. By Dafydd ab Iago Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

German heating proposals 'jeopardise climate targets'

25/02/26

German heating proposals 'jeopardise climate targets'

Berlin, 25 February (Argus) — Germany's proposed new heating law will jeopardise the country's climate targets in the building sector, environmental groups and energy associations have warned. The law, proposed yesterday evening by ruling parties the CDU/CSU and SPD, would include a rising green gas or green oil quota, termed "bio-stairs", to enable households to stick with gas or oil heating systems. The so-called buildings modernisation act will ensure that "new heating systems will be predominantly CO2-free in future", the parties said. Economy and energy minister Katherina Reiche of the CDU said the proposals offer "free choice of heating" compared with the legislation that they will replace. The buildings energy act passed under the previous Greens-led economy ministry includes a mandatory 65pc renewables share for new heating systems. The proposed new rules call for a 1pc admixture of carbon-neutral fuels from 2028, with new gas and oil heating systems to use at least 10pc of the equivalent biofuel from 2029. The quota would then rise in three stages until 2040. The text mentions biomethane, hydrogen, synthetic fuels and bio-oil as potential fuels to meet the quotas. For hydrogen, it suggests an openness to various production pathways, specifically renewable hydrogen, hydrogen made from natural gas with carbon capture and storage or through pyrolysis, and waste-based hydrogen. The parties expect savings of 2mn t CO2 equivalent (CO2e) by 2030 through these measures. The CDU/CSU and SPD will present the final details of the proposed system in the summer, by which point they aim to have a government draft passed by parliament, with the law scheduled to enter force on 1 July. Existing funding programmes will continue until at least 2029. Critical thinking Environmental group DUH's managing director Barbara Metz said scrapping the 65pc renewables rule will make climate neutrality in the building sector "effectively unattainable". Metz flagged a recent high administrative court ruling calling for more climate action , particularly in the country's buildings and transport sectors. The CDU/CSU and SPD have stressed that the targets under Germany's climate action law will continue to apply. Should an evaluation in 2030 show that the building sector is not meeting its target, "corrective measures will be taken", they said. But allowing gas and "even" oil heating systems to be installed with initially "relatively low" biofuel content, while at the same time abolishing the 65pc requirement, would jeopardise Germany's climate targets, energy and water association BDEW managing director Kerstin Andreae said. And "ambitious" green fuel quotas will be needed to have an emissions-saving effect, but such high quotas will in turn drive up heating prices, penalising tenants in particular, think-tank Agora Energiewende's Julia Blaesius warned. Green fuels are "scarce" and it remains unclear how demand for them will develop, she said. The CDU/CSU and SPD paper argues that gas and oil suppliers already offer tariffs with an organic component. And the carbon price under Germany's domestic carbon market — expected to be replaced by the future EU emissions trading system for the buildings and transport sectors (ETS 2) from 2028 — does not apply to the climate-friendly fuel component, which will have a cost-cutting effect, they said. Germany's buildings sector emitted around 109mn t CO2e last year, according to federal environment office UBA. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Trump upbeat on economy despite tariff setback

25/02/26

Trump upbeat on economy despite tariff setback

Washington, 24 February (Argus) — President Donald Trump, facing curbs on his tariff authority and concerns about his military threats against Iran, stuck to his familiar upbeat take on the US economy and the success of his foreign and trade policy during his State of the Union address on Tuesday. "After just one year, I can say with dignity and pride that we have achieved a transformation like no one has ever seen before, and a turnaround for the ages," Trump told the joint session of Congress. "America is respected again like never before." Trump credited the economic "turnaround" to his tariffs, which he said brought in "hundreds of billions of dollars" after he forced foreign countries to sign trade and investment deals. "Everything was working well," he said. "We were making a lot of money. There was no inflation, tremendous growth." Trump railed against the "disappointing" decision by the US Supreme Court on 20 February to strike down his emergency tariffs, which he said made foreign countries "happy". Trump insisted that the trade deals he negotiated under the threat of the now-invalidated tariffs will remain in place, because, he said, the foreign governments know about "the legal power that I, as president, have to make a new deal that could be far worse for them". At least one of those deals has now stalled, because the European Parliament has paused the ratification of the US-EU deal that involved a promise to scale up US crude and LNG supply to Europe. Trump on Tuesday imposed a new, 10pc tariff on all US imports — with exemptions for energy and some other products — for a period of 150 days to give his administration a chance to reverse engineer some of the tariffs struck down by the Supreme Court. He has threatened to raise those tariffs to 15pc. Trump used the speech to tout his "energy dominance" agenda, which he credits with increasing fossil fuel production and lower energy prices. US crude production increased by 600,000 b/d during his first year in office, Trump said. The actual increase in the past year is closer to 500,000 b/d, according to data from the Energy Information Administration (EIA), which also expects production to decline in 2027. Trump cited gasoline prices as low as $1.99/USG at a handful of retail stations as proof that his policies were working. But consumers faced higher prices for electricity and natural gas over the same period, eating into savings on motor fuel. Natural gas prices at the Henry Hub benchmark rose by more than 60pc last year, and EIA expects those prices will continue to rise, driven by higher demand from LNG exports and data center power demand. Democrats say that Trump's attacks on wind and solar projects, and phase-out of clean energy tax credits, will result in consumers facing far higher prices in the coming years as data center power demand surges. To address concerns about data center-driven price increases, Trump unveiled what he called a "ratepayer protection pledge", under which technology companies seeking to build new data centers can build new, dedicated power plants rather than connect to existing power grids. Data centers developers already have turned to building "behind-the-meter" power plants, which allows them to bypass the complex regulatory process for approving new generation and transmission infrastructure. Iran in Trump's sights Trump during his speech accused Iran of trying to restart its nuclear weapons program, even though he said the bombing raid he ordered in June 2025 "obliterated" that program. Despite ongoing negotiations with Tehran, "we haven't heard those secret words, 'We will never have a nuclear weapon'", Trump said. "My preference is to solve this problem through diplomacy, but one thing is certain, I will never allow the world's number one sponsor of terror, which they are by far, to have a nuclear weapon." The US military buildup in the region near Iran is the largest in decades, but the administration did not brief lawmakers on the possible military options Trump is considering until shortly before his speech. Top Democratic lawmakers, after a classified briefing by secretary of state Marco Rubio on Tuesday, expressed concerns about what Trump is planning to do and urged him to clearly articulate the potential risks of his actions. "It is incumbent upon the president to make the case on what our country's goals are, what our interests are, and how we are going to protect our interests in the region," senator Mark Warner (Virginia), the senior Democrat on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said after the briefing. "Wars in the Middle East don't go well for presidents, for the country, and we have not heard a single good reason for why now is the moment to launch yet another war in the Middle East," representative Jim Himes (Connecticut), the top Democrat on the House intelligence panel, said. By Haik Gugarats and Chris Knight Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

UN eyes new voluntary credit cancellation platform

23/02/26

UN eyes new voluntary credit cancellation platform

Berlin, 23 February (Argus) — The UN's climate arm UNFCCC is looking at options for a voluntary cancellation platform for carbon credits under the new Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (Pacm) to replace the one under its predecessor the clean development mechanism (CDM). Pacm's regulator, the Article 6.4 supervisory body, aims to decide by July whether to "repurpose" the CDM voluntary cancellation platform or set up a new one, which would entail higher costs, it said at the closing of its meeting in Bonn, Germany, on 20 February. The CDM will terminate at the end of this year, putting an end to the voluntary cancellation platform for CER credits issued under the mechanism. Pacm is obliged to offer the option of voluntary cancellation of its so-called A6.4ER credits. The platform would be linked to the new mechanism registry, which is expected to remain in interim mode until early 2027, and which already lists CERs that have transitioned to Pacm. Unless countries under the Paris Agreement decide otherwise at the UN Cop 31 climate conference in Turkey in December, all non-transitioned CERs will be cancelled by June 2027 at the latest. This would leave only A6.4ERs and transitioned CERs on the voluntary cancellation platform from 2027, the UNFCCC said. Some supervisory body members commended such a platform, arguing that it would broaden the reach and diversify the use of A6.4ERs, showcase projects and "engage the public". But others cautioned on the differing ways in which jurisdictions will allow certain claims to be made on purchased units, and "public sensitivities" over issues such as greenwashing. In some jurisdictions, for instance, climate-neutral claims by companies may be challenged in court. Claims may be a separate issue, other members argued. Claims made by purchasers are "beyond our control", the UNFCCC said. Some members also pointed out that the aim of the CDM's voluntary platform had been to open up CER use for voluntary emissions reductions in the context of the CDM's chronic oversupply, while Pacm has hardly any supply yet and uncertain demand. The UNFCCC suggested carrying out a survey to gauge demand. The new platform may charge vendor fees, unlike the CDM voluntary cancellation platform, the UNFCCC said, citing expected higher costs to enhance security and for the necessary resources for listing projects and monitoring orders. The CDM voluntary cancellation platform is open to corporate buyers, event organisers and individuals wishing to reduce their carbon footprint. Nearly 16mn CERs had been cancelled on the platform by December 2025 since its launch in 2015, the UNFCCC said. And as of December 2025, CERs from 108 projects were available on the platform, up by 45pc compared with December 2023. By Chloe Jardine Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2026. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.

Argus Carbon

Benchmarks de precios del carbono, noticias sobre políticas y proyectos, y análisis exhaustivos, a diario.

Informe Argus Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy

Tercera parte: América del Norte Un análisis en profundidad de los sectores, países y políticas claves que permiten el crecimiento del hidrógeno.

Argus Hydrogen and Future Fuels

El punto de vista global sobre el hidrógeno y los mercados de productos derivados.

Argus Low Carbon Hydrogen Strategy Report

Part Two: Europe and Africa. An in-depth analysis of the key sectors, countries and policies enabling hydrogen growth.

Argus LNG Daily

Acceda a las últimas evaluaciones del precio al contado de GNL, noticias del mercado y análisis independientes.

Business intelligence reports

Get concise, trustworthy and unbiased analysis of the latest trends and developments in oil and energy markets. These reports are specially created for decision makers who don’t have time to track markets day-by-day, minute-by-minute.

Learn more