Scaling Cooperation: Bilateral Agreements and Article 6.4 Mechanism
Bilateral Cooperation Status
Bilateral cooperation increased from 99 arrangements in 2025 to 113 in 2026, representing a 14% increase, or 14 additional arrangements over the year. The overall growth reflects an expansion in bilateral cooperation, with the total number of arrangements increasing across the reporting period. Of the 14 additional arrangements, 12 were Bilateral Agreements (BAs), while MoUs increased by three and arrangements classified as “Other” decreased by one. “Other” refers to declarations, statements of intents, and other forms of bilateral arrangement. The number of arrangements in this category may change over time if Parties take the next step toward formalizing their cooperation, for example, through the signing of a MoU or an Implementation Agreement.
Japan remains the leading acquiring Party, with the number of agreements increasing marginally from 31 in 2025 to 32 in 2026. Singapore recorded the strongest growth, increasing from 24 to 29 agreements, followed by Switzerland and South Korea, which rose from 17 to 20 and 11 to 14, respectively. Norway also increased its engagement from six to eight agreements, while Sweden remained unchanged at six. Kuwait, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and the United Arab Emirates each maintained one agreement in both years.
Bilateral Cooperation between Parties
Sixty-eight Parties are currently engaging in bilateral cooperation, consisting of 58 host Parties and 10 acquiring Parties. Some Parties are both acquiring and host Parties, including Norway, Sweden, and the United Arab Emirates. Ghana and Kenya are among the host Parties with highest bilateral engagement, with five acquiring Parties each. Mongolia, Senegal, Indonesia, and Zambia follow closely with each engaging with four acquiring Parties
Mitigation Activities Under the Bilateral Cooperation
There are 221 activities being implemented under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. Japan accounts for 147 activities through the JCM, followed by Switzerland, which has 38 activities, reflecting the active pursuit of high-integrity ITMOs to meet their climate targets.
Activities Under the Bilateral Cooperation
Projects under bilateral cooperation are concentrated in energy-generation activities, largely driven by Japan’s JCM. Energy generation remains the largest area, with 83 activities, followed by industrial processes (56) and building and construction (48), with Japan accounting for most activities in these sectors. However, the growing involvement of other acquiring Parties and the emergence of activities in transport, waste, agriculture, and forestry indicate that Article 6.2 cooperation is gradually expanding into a wider range of mitigation activities.
Activity Type Under Energy Generation
Energy-generation activities are predominantly driven by Japan, particularly through solar and hydro activities, while Norway and Switzerland lead the smaller “Others” and biomass-energy categories, respectively. The “Others” category also includes bundled renewable energy activities, where a single activity encompasses multiple renewable-energy activities.
ITMOs Transfer Under Bilateral Cooperation
A total of 151,566 tCO₂e of ITMOs have been transferred under bilateral cooperation agreements through these activities. However, the number of completed ITMO transactions remains limited and several factors explain this slow progress. These include the time needed to establish and operationalize national authorization and tracking systems. In addition, project development and verification processes can be lengthy and differences in institutional arrangements may further delay implementation.
Article 6.4 Designated National Authority (DNA) and Host Party Participation Requirements
Progress in the communication of Article 6.4 DNA and host Party participation requirements has continued as Parties move toward operationalizing their participation in the PACM or Article 6.4 mechanism. To date, a growing number of host Parties have submitted the required information, providing greater clarity on the national authorities responsible for Article 6.4 participation and the requirements applicable to activities seeking to implement under the mechanism.
Transition of CDM Activities to PACM
Based on the Decision 20/CMA.7, the deadline for host Party approval was extended to 30 June 2026, from the original deadline of 31 December 2025. With the extended deadline now passed, the number of activities that have secured host Party approval provides an important indication of progress in the transition process and the extent to which eligible activities are positioned to continue under the Article 6.4 mechanism. Attention is now also turning to the 31 December 2026 deadline for submission of additional documentation for activities continuing to apply their existing CDM methodologies, making timely completion of the remaining transition requirements particularly important.
The transition pipeline from the CDM shows a total of 1,515 CDM activities requested transition to the Article 6.4 mechanism. Of these, 1,396 were Project Activities (PAs), accounting for 92% of the total, while 119 were Program of Activities (PoAs), representing 8%.
Of the 1,515 CDM activities requesting transition to the Article 6.4 mechanism, 415 have been approved for transition by host Parties, representing an important step in moving existing CDM activities into the Paris Agreement framework. Of these, 334 were PAs, accounting for 92% of the total, while 81 were PoAs, representing 20%. Of these approved activities, 22 have been registered under the Article 6.4 mechanism, while two have already issued emission-reduction units.
The two activities that have reached issuance under the PACM are both from Myanmar, including the Clean Energy Program Supported by the Republic of Korea (PoA 10415) and the CCC Program for the Distribution of Improved Cookstoves in Myanmar (PoA 10471). Notably, the Myanmar cookstove activity was the first activity to have A6.4ERs approved for issuance under the PACM, marking an important milestone in the operationalization of Article 6.4. As of July 2026, the two activities had recorded approved issuance of approximately 1.11 million A6.4ERs, comprising 648,783 tCO2e from the Myanmar cookstove activity and 463,373 tCO2e from the Republic of Korea-supported clean energy activity. This demonstrates the transition of CDM activities from host Party approval and registration into actual credit issuance.
CDM Activities Approved for Transition by Host Party by Region
The approved CDM transition activities show a strong regional concentration in Latin America and the Caribbean, which accounts for the largest share of approvals, followed by Southeast Asia and East and Southern Africa, while other regions have comparatively fewer approved activities. At the country level, Brazil is the leading host country, followed by Chile, Vietnam, Thailand and Pakistan, although a substantial share of approvals is distributed across other countries. Overall, this shows a larger geographical engagement but uneven progress, with approvals concentrated in regions and countries with established CDM activities and active engagement with the Article 6.4 transition process
CDM Activities Approved for Transition by Host Party
The approved CDM activities transitioning to Article 6.4 are heavily concentrated in the energy-generation sector, which accounts for more than half of the approved pipeline. Waste management is the second-largest sector, followed by building and construction and industrial processes, together accounting for a substantial share of the remaining activities. In contrast, forestry and land use, transportation and agriculture have relatively limited representation.
PACM Prior Consideration Notifications
Prior consideration notifications serve as an early signal of interest from project developers indicating their intention to register activities under PACM. Under the Paris Agreement’s Article 6.4 mechanism, participants proposing a new activity are required to demonstrate that they considered the potential benefits of the mechanism before proceeding with its development. This is demonstrated through a prior consideration notification, whereby the participant informs the Article 6.4 mechanism’s secretariat of its intention to seek registration of the proposed activity under the mechanism.
Prior Consideration Notifications by Type
A total of 1,159 prior consideration notifications have been submitted as of July 2026. About 80% (924) of the submissions are PAs, while 20% (235) are PoAs, signaling the growing interest in operationalization of the Article 6.4 mechanism and readiness of stakeholders to engage in carbon-market activities.
Prior Consideration Notifications by Region
South Asia is by far the biggest driver of activity, accounting for the vast majority of all notifications submitted so far. A smaller group of projects is emerging across Latin America and the Caribbean as well as East and Southern Africa. The regional distribution of the prior consideration notifications is uneven, and regions including East Asia, Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and the Pacific have submitted substantially fewer notifications.
Type of Activities Submitted Under the Prior Considerations Notifications
Energy generation accounts for the largest share, with 619 activities, representing approximately 53% of all activities, followed by building and construction with 250 activities (22%). Together, these two sectors account for around 75% of the activities, highlighting their prominence among activities considering participation under Article 6. Other sectors such as waste management, forestry, agriculture, transport, and industrial processes make up only a small fraction of the pipeline, while urban development projects are the smallest segment.
Prior Consideration Notifications Activity Types Under Energy Generation
A large majority of energy generation prior consideration notifications are concentrated in renewable-energy generation, mainly driven by solar energy and biomass energy, followed by wind and hydro power. The building and construction sector represents the second largest group and is made up entirely of household energy efficiency projects like clean cookstoves and efficient lighting.
The prior consideration notifications show early momentum for the PACM, driven mostly by standalone renewable-energy projects and household energy efficiency activities in South Asia. While this highlights strong private-sector interest in A6.4ERs, the heavy concentration in a few countries and sectors shows that international support and targeted policies will be essential to build a truly global market
End Notes and Remarks
The data presented in this section follow sectoral classifications derived from the Article 6 common nomenclature established by the UNFCCC, while regional designations are based on A6IP regional categories. Project data used across both chapters have been harmonized and consolidated into the A6IP Internal Database, which incorporates information from multiple data sources to ensure consistency and comparability across the analysis.
For clarity and to provide a more detailed representation of the data, the Building and Construction category on energy efficiency (services) and energy efficiency (households) has been further disaggregated to show the main activities covered under this category. This additional breakdown allows readers to better understand the composition of activities classified under Building and Construction.
Each PoA and PA is referred to and counted as one activity in the analysis, regardless of the number of underlying individual activities that may be included within the PoA or PA. This approach ensures consistency in the counting and presentation of activities across the analysis. Emission reductions and removals are expressed in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (tCO₂e).
Data Sources
GEC JCM Database
The Norwegian Global Emission Reduction (NOGER) Initiative
Klik
https://www.klik.ch/en/switzerland/
International Carbon Credits (ICC) Singapore Article 6 Cooperation
https://www.carbonmarkets-cooperation.gov.sg/our-art6-cooperation/
Article 6 Pipeline, UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre (UNEP CCC), Accessed July 2026. Available at:
https://article6pipeline.unepccc.org/
UNFCCC Article 6.4 DNAs
UNFCCC Prior Consideration Notifications
UNFCCC List of CDM Activities in Transition