Established during COP26, Article 6 sets the rules for crediting mechanisms to be used by the 193 signatories of the Paris Agreement to reach emission reduction targets or NDCs. The implementation of Article 6 has made it possible for countries to buy voluntary carbon credits.

A carbon credit is a transferable certificate issued by a carbon credit rating agency to represent an emission reduction of one metric tonne of CO2, or an equivalent amount of other greenhouse gases (GHGs).

The carbon credit delivery date is the date a carbon credit will be available for purchase on the market.

Refers to the year a carbon credit was issued. The vintage of an offset may not necessarily match the year of the transaction, and the vintage year may even be in the future.

A marketplace that treats emissions reductions as a commodity, where participating members can buy and sell carbon credits.

A reduction or removal of emissions of CO2 or other GHGs made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.

The most important carbon sink on the planet is the ocean. Any natural or man-made reservoir that collects and stores any carbon-containing chemical component for an indefinite length of time, lowering CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

The physical structure or end product that carbon is stored in.

Defined by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, climate change is, “A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.”

COP stands for Conference of the Parties. In this sphere, the parties are the governments that have signed the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and includes over 190 countries. The COP brings these signatory governments together once a year, since 1995, to discuss how to jointly handle climate change.

The 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, referred to as COP26. Signatories agreed to cut climate pollution in half from current levels by 2030 and bring them down to net zero by 2050 to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. 

The release of greenhouse gasses into the atmosphere.

GHGs stands for greenhouse gases, which are gases that trap heat within the atmosphere. Common GHGs include methane, nitrous oxide, fluorinated gases, and carbon dioxide, which is one of the most recognizable GHGs and a primary contributor to global warming.

NDC stands for Nationally Determined Contributions. Established by the Paris Agreement in 2015, NDCs refer to each participating country’s outlined efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s climate action goals.

Any carbon emission reduction or removal activity that generates certified carbon credits and is shown in the declarations.

The operator and owner of the physical project installation where the emission reduction project takes place. An owner can be any private person, company or other organization.

A person or organization with the intention to develop an emission reduction project. This could be the project owner, a consultant, or specialized services provider.

The capture, removal, and storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere into a carbon pool. Sequestration can occur through biological (e.g., photosynthesis in plants and trees), chemical (e.g., turning CO2 into carbonate minerals), or physical processes (e.g., storage of carbon dioxide in underground reservoirs).