Enviro News Asia, Bonn — Clean cooking projects can now seek carbon credits under the Paris Agreement’s carbon market following the adoption of two new methodologies by the United Nations body overseeing the mechanism.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) announced the decision on October 9, 2026, after the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body approved methodologies covering more efficient wood- and charcoal-burning stoves and broader transitions to cleaner, lower-emission household cooking.
Around 2.1 billion people worldwide still cook using open fires or inefficient stoves powered by polluting fuels. According to the UNFCCC, cleaner cooking technologies can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, ease pressure on forests, and lower household exposure to harmful air pollution.
The new methodologies establish eligibility requirements for projects, explain how emission reductions must be calculated and monitored, and specify the checks needed before carbon credits can be issued. They apply standards designed to ensure that credited reductions are real, additional, and calculated conservatively.
Mkhuthazi Steleki, chair of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, said the decision provides cleaner cooking projects with a new pathway into the UN carbon market while establishing rules intended to maintain the credibility of issued credits.
He added that the methodologies translate the body’s mandate under the Paris Agreement into practical measures, combining opportunities for cleaner cooking projects with safeguards to strengthen confidence in the mechanism.
New Safeguards Address Carbon Reversal Risks
Alongside the two methodologies, the Supervisory Body adopted the first version of a tool to assess reversal risks in clean cooking projects and other activities that reduce the use of non-renewable biomass.
The tool addresses the possibility that previously achieved emission reductions could be reversed. Without appropriate accounting measures, carbon credits could continue to be counted even if the emissions reductions they represent were subsequently undone.
Such inconsistencies could affect the accounting of successive national climate plans, formally known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), under the Paris Agreement.
The UNFCCC said the tool will be updated as stronger evidence and improved data become available. Future versions are expected to cover additional types of activities.
Countries may also use country-specific values to assess natural risks when suitable data are available. This approach allows the tool to reflect national circumstances while maintaining consistent carbon accounting.
Paris Agreement Carbon Market Expands
The new methodologies broaden the range of activities eligible under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.
Previously adopted methodologies cover landfill gas, nitrous oxide emissions from nitric acid production, and grid-connected renewable electricity. Together with the new clean cooking methodologies, the mechanism now addresses emissions involving three major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
The latest decision also advances the Supervisory Body’s priority of expanding the mechanism to cover a broader range of sectors and activities.
COP31 to Guide Future Carbon Market Rules
The Supervisory Body is scheduled to present its annual report to parties to the Paris Agreement at COP31, which will take place in Antalya, Türkiye, from November 9 to 20, 2026.
During the conference, countries may clarify or expand the body’s mandate and provide guidance on future methodologies and carbon market rules.
The expansion of eligible activities is expected to create additional opportunities for clean cooking initiatives to access the UN-backed carbon market, provided they meet the mechanism’s requirements for measuring, monitoring, and verifying emission reductions. (*)
