The United Nations body overseeing the Paris Agreement’s carbon market has adopted a new methodology designed to eliminate nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from global nitric acid production, expanding the operational scope of the Article 6.4 Crediting Mechanism.
Approved during a meeting in Bonn, the decision allows industrial projects that successfully abate emissions at nitric acid plants to generate official carbon credits under the Paris Agreement. Nitrous oxide is a highly potent greenhouse gas with a warming potential significantly stronger than carbon dioxide. Global atmospheric levels of N2O have surged by approximately 40 per cent since 1980, prompting 97 per cent of recent Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to include the gas within national climate strategies.
Nitric acid production, primarily utilized for manufacturing agricultural fertilizers, represents a major industrial source of N2O Between 400 and 600 such chemical plants operate globally, generating roughly 70 million tonnes of nitric acid annually. Because many of these facilities are located in developing nations where abatement technologies are not yet standard, the newly approved framework provides a commercial pathway to deploy proven mitigation technologies at scale.
Mkhuthazi Steleki, Chair of the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, noted the operational expansion, stating: “This is a strong step forward in delivering real emission reductions through the mechanism. We are expanding into sectors where proven solutions exist and where action can have an immediate impact. This is part of a broader push to deliver practical results this year.”
Alongside the N2O methodology, the Supervisory Body approved two additional regulatory tools to strengthen the credibility of the crediting mechanism:
- Lock-in risk assessment tool: A methodological framework designed to ensure approved project activities do not inadvertently lock in legacy, high-emitting technologies or operational practices incompatible with long-term net-zero trajectories.
- Revised additionality standard: An updated standard that tightens the criteria projects must meet to prove their emission reductions go beyond business-as-usual scenarios.
Jacqui Ruesga, Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Body, emphasized the focus on operational readiness, stating: “We are delivering on our commitment to implementation. With each methodology adopted, there are more tools in the toolbox for high integrity climate action.”
The UN carbon market continues to advance additional frameworks through its Methodological Expert Panel, with upcoming proposals expected later this year to target sectors such as clean cooking and household energy use. Concurrently, technical development continues on the mechanism’s official registry to enable the formal issuance, tracking, and cross-border transfer of the resulting carbon credits.
