Article 6 Implementation: What It Means for African Carbon Project Developers

The operationalisation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement represents the most significant structural change to international carbon markets since the Kyoto Protocol. For African project developers, the new framework brings both significant opportunity and important compliance obligations that require proactive attention.

Article 6.2 establishes a bilateral cooperative framework between countries, allowing the transfer of mitigation outcomes — known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) — between nations. For an African project developer, this means that credits from your project may be used by a purchasing country to meet its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), rather than being retired by a private corporate buyer. This distinction is critical: projects supplying ITMOs must receive authorisation from the host country government and are subject to 'corresponding adjustments' — accounting entries that ensure reductions are not double-counted by both the host and buyer country.

For the voluntary carbon market, the corresponding adjustment question has become a litmus test of credit quality. A growing number of corporate buyers are demanding that credits be 'CA-backed', meaning the host country government has authorised the international transfer and applied the necessary accounting adjustment. This is currently standard practice in fewer than 15 African countries, creating both a compliance challenge and a first-mover advantage for developers operating in proactive jurisdictions.

Article 6.4 establishes a centralised UN-supervised crediting mechanism — sometimes referred to as the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) — that will operate alongside, and in some respects replace, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). African developers with existing CDM projects have a transition pathway: legacy CERs issued after 2013 can be converted to Article 6.4 units subject to host country authorisation and a validation review against updated methodologies. Africa Carbon Hub advises developers to initiate this review process now, as the conversion window is expected to close within 18–24 months.

The practical implications for project structuring are substantial. Developers should engage their host country's Designated National Authority (DNA) at the earliest stage of project development to understand the country's authorisation framework and NDC headroom — that is, the volume of mitigation outcomes the government is willing to authorise for international transfer without compromising its own NDC targets. Countries with ambitious NDCs and strong domestic mitigation pipelines may be more restrictive in granting authorisations, directly affecting the international supply of compliant credits.

Africa Carbon Hub is currently supporting project developers across six African countries in navigating their respective Article 6 authorisation processes. Our advisory team works directly with DNA counterparts to map authorisation frameworks, assess NDC headroom, and structure projects to meet emerging buyer requirements. Developers seeking to access Article 6 opportunities are encouraged to engage us early in the project lifecycle.

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Africa Carbon Hub provides advisory, brokerage, and training services to project developers, investors, and institutions across the continent.