UN carbon market expands to renewable power sector

UN Climate Change News, 30 June 2026 - Renewable power projects can now seek credits under the Paris Agreement's carbon market, after the UN Body overseeing the mechanism adopted a new methodology for grid connected renewable electricity.

This decision reflects the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body's focus this year on building the practical rules and tools needed to expand the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.

It opens the door for eligible grid-connected renewable electricity projects to generate UN-backed carbon credits, ensuring those credits reflect real, additional and verified emission reductions. The methodology, together with supporting tools and standards, sets out which projects can qualify, how emission reductions must be measured, and what checks are needed before credits can be issued.

By supporting renewable electricity projects where finance is still a barrier, the methodology can help countries move closer to their Paris Agreement goals, including efforts to keep 1.5°C within reach, while contributing to sustainable development.

Simon Stiell, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary said:

"Despite clear progress, the shift to renewable based electricity generation is still not happening fast enough, and people, communities and economies are paying the price - household bills through the roof, a planet that keeps heating, worsening climate disasters like heatwaves and floods, and countries exposed to costly fuel imports instead of energy they control. Renewables are now the cheapest power almost everywhere in the world. What's needed now in many countries is more accessible finance to build them faster.

"The UN carbon market can help close that gap, unlocking finance for projects that would not otherwise move ahead, under strong rules and with real climate impact. That means more clean power on the grid, helping countries move faster towards their climate goals. For developing countries, it can also open new revenue streams for climate action that deliver real benefits on the ground."

Supporting clean-power projects that need help getting build

Renewable power is growing fast, but many countries still need support to get projects built.

Countries have committed to work towards tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030, a goal that will require much more investment in clean power. Data from national climate plans (known as Nationally Determined Contributions, or NDCs) submitted to UN Climate Change shows that many countries' planned renewable electricity capacity for 2030 depends fully or partly on international support - underscoring the role of finance in getting clean power built.

The decision comes as countries look to electrify more of their economies, from transport and buildings to industry. The incoming COP31 Presidency has proposed raising electricity's share of global energy use from just over 20 per cent today to 35 per cent by 2035, a shift that would require much faster deployment of clean power.

Expanding impact across major greenhouse gases

"The mechanism is increasingly moving into sectors that matter for people's daily lives and for countries' climate plans," said Mkhuthazi Steleki, Chair of the Supervisory Body. "This methodology is conservative by design, so that expanding into clean power doesn't come at the cost of what the Paris Agreement requires."

The new methodology expands the range of projects that can issue credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, bringing another major source of greenhouse gases into scope. It adds renewable power to earlier methodologies covering methane from landfill gas and nitrous oxide from nitric acid production.

"These are familiar project types, but crediting them credibly takes careful design," said Jacqui Ruesga, Vice-Chair of the Supervisory Body. "With this methodology, we have put practical rules and conservative safeguards together. That is the balance a high-integrity mechanism needs."

Further progress and next steps

The Body also considered a draft methodology for energy efficiency measures in household cooking and requested further work before taking a decision. This includes further consideration on issues such as non-permanence, uncertainty and conservativeness, with a view to considering the methodology together with the related methodological tools and standards as a coherent package.

Additionally, the Body adopted updates to the mechanism registry procedure, a key part of the infrastructure needed to issue, hold, transfer and track credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.

Further work will continue on post-issuance authorizations, implementation of the Baku decisions, and related methodological tools needed to support projects in practice.

The Article 6.4 Supervisory Body's final meeting of the year ahead of COP31 will take place in Bonn from 5th to 9th October 2026.