Operationalizing Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement: Achieving ambitious climate action through cooperative approaches

This self-paced course presents a comprehensive overview of Paris Agreement Article 6.2 implementation requirements and the main building blocks for an Article 6.2 Framework in your country. It will help position your country as a trusted partner in cooperative approaches with bilateral partners that can advance action towards achieving each nation’s NDCs and higher ambition on climate action.

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 Course type: Self-paced course
 Languages: English, Spanish
 Estimated effort: 1 hour per module
Duration: 6 modules
 Organizers: United Nations Development ProgrammeUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Donor: Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs
 Partners: Swedish Energy AgencyIGES
Contributors: Gold Standard, SustainCert
 Technical Developer: Neyen Consulting


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UNDP in collaboration with UNFCCC and State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, SECO, of Switzerland is supporting countries in their capacity building for Article 6.2 operationalization. Through this course, participants will be introduced to multiple activities that will equip government representatives in their decision-making processes to ensure effective participation in Article 6.2. In addition, policymakers and ministries’ technical staff will be informed about the key building blocks of the processes and procedures required for entering into successful Article 6.2 cooperative approaches.

With the completion of the Paris Rulebook in COP26 in Glasgow, countries are becoming more aware of the opportunities to cooperate towards NDC achievement and the higher ambitions that may be made through Article 6.2. Transferring countries, while being supported to implement high ambition climate actions, can also benefit from technology transfer, conditional financing, capacity building and transformative change of key sectors of their economies.

This course will help support policymakers, technical staff, government officials and implementation public and private sector partners in becoming more knowledgeable about cooperative approaches and their already increasing adoption after COP26.

About the course

The course is geared to government officials and policymakers, technical staff, and other stakeholders who will be at the center of decisions, development, operationalization, and operation of cooperative approaches.

This course serves as an introduction to Article 6, and in particular Article 6.2, of the Paris Agreement, which details guidance on cooperative approaches which countries may engage on to support more ambitious climate actions and NDC achievement by enabling the transfer of mitigation outcomes across borders, delivering benefits to participating Parties.

Course highlights and outcomes

  • Gain key insights into the long-awaited cooperative approaches under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement.
  • Enable your ability to support highly ambitious national climate change objectives and help deliver transcendental benefits that can systematically support climate change efforts.
  • Learn how Article 6.2 processes, policies, and procedures can be tailor-made to support countries wishing to participate.
  • Learn about the opportunities, risks, and implications of participation in cooperative approaches.

Learning objectives

After completion of the course, staff in charge of the design and implementation of processes and procedures will be ready to participate in cooperative approaches in the country.

By the time of completion you will:

  • Be equipped to make decisions related to country participation in cooperative approaches under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. 
  • Have a detailed overview of the requirements and implications of their participation.
  • Understand the different policy, technical and processes components required to operationalize Article 6.2.

Course topics

  • MODULE 1. International collaboration towards NDC achievement - What is Article 6?
  • MODULE 2. Engagement Policy and implications of participation - Why participate? 
  • MODULE 3. Article 6.2 projects for transformative climate action - What is a good Art 6.2 project?
  • MODULE 4. Transfer authorization, registration, and corresponding adjustments - What processes need to be in place to participate?
  • MODULE 5. Governance, Regulatory framework, and institutional set-up - How do we organize ourselves to participate?
  • MODULE 6. Reporting to the UNFCCC - What do we need to report to UNFCCC in the context of Art. 6.2?

Course completion requirements

To receive the certificate of course completion you must:

  • Complete 6 lessons
  • Complete a total of 6 quizzes offered after each module
  • Complete a course-satisfaction survey.


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Course Includes

  • 9 Modules
  • 13 Activities
  • 6 quizzes
  • Course Certificate

Frequently Asked Questions

Module 1Module 2Module 3Module 4Module 5Module 6

Module 1: International Collaboration towards NDC Achievement

  • Module 1 is a basic introduction to Art. 6 of the Paris Agreement and specifically Art. 6.2. It introduces the concept of voluntary cooperation towards achieving the NDCs and promoting higher ambition climate actions.

Module 2: Engagement Policy and Implications of Participation

  • In Module 2, you will gain an understanding of the benefits and risks of participating in Article 6.2 cooperative approaches. Also, it explains the participation requirements and obligations if your country participates.

Module 3: Article 6.2 Projects for Transformative Climate Action

  • This Module highlights the main conditions for the identification of Article 6.2 type mitigation actions to promote a higher level of ambition. Specifically, you will learn about the relationship between NDC and potential mitigation activities under Article 6.2 and how to ensure cooperative approaches go beyond the NDC commitments of the transferring Party.
  • You will also learn about the different roles of government in facilitating Article 6.2 activities, as well as the role of the private sector.
  • This module also elaborates on the need to preserve environmental integrity and the safeguards that an Art. 6.2 cooperative approach can put in place to ensure the same.

Module 4: Transfer Authorization, Registration, and Corresponding Adjustments

  • In Module 4, you will learn about the key issues countries may want to address prior to the authorization of the transfer of MOs. Participants will also gain an understanding into the establishment of authorization procedures, registry needs and the concept of corresponding adjustments.

Module 5: Governance, Regulatory Framework and Institutional Set-up

  • In Module 5, you will learn how the regulatory and institutional framework for article 6.2 can be integrated into existing national frameworks. You will also be provided with an overview of the processes and institutional set-up required for the operationalization of cooperative approaches, procedural arrangements, and administrative services related to the project cycle.   
  • As a key part in the management of the process, the module will introduce the reporting requirements to the UNFCCC.

Module 6: Reporting to the UNFCCC - What do we need to report to UNFCCC in the context of Art. 6.2?

  • Module 6 will provide a high-level overview of the reporting requirements for countries engaged in Article 6.2 activities.
  • It introduces the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) and the information to be included in the Article 6 initial report, related information in the Biennial Transparency Report (BTR), and information to report annually to the UNFCCC.

Perumal Arumugam

Perumal Arumugam is the Team Lead at the Mitigation Division at the UNFCCC, where he leads and supports the intergovernmental negotiations process on all international co-operative and market related mechanisms and issues under the Kyoto protocol and the Article 6 of the Paris agreement. At the UNFCCC, he also provides technical advice on substantive technical issues relating to the quantification of mitigation benefits across various sectors, including that of the aviation related mitigation methodologies. Prior to joining the UNFCCC, he was elected for four consecutive years as an expert member from the Asia pacific region to support four technical bodies under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).


Pierre Bloch

Pierre Bloch joined SustainCERT with 10 years of experience as a strategic advisor on corporate sustainability, with expertise in ISO, LCA, GHG-P Scope 3 reporting, and emission factor development. He has relevant field experience in the development and certification of carbon offset projects when working as a project developer. In his current role, Pierre is responsible for the cross-functional development and delivery of products to build credibility around the development, implementation, and reporting of corporate sustainability strategies. Pierre holds a Master of Science in environmental economics and a Masters in Bio-Engineering from AgroParisTech.


Johan Nylander

Johan Nylander has worked with climate policy, climate financing, and carbon pricing for over 20 years. He has broad experience in issues relating to the formulation and implementation of market-based instruments, in particular national emissions trading schemes and international carbon markets under the UNFCCC, but also relating to climate policy more broadly such as nationally determined contributions. As a senior advisor, he provides analysis and advice to governments, multilateral development banks, UN bodies, and the private sector.


Miguel Rescalvo

Miguel is the founder of Neyen Consulting (Neyen.io) a multidisciplinary international consultancy at the forefront of climate change policy, carbon markets, just transition, and energy policy across Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe. He is leading first-of-its-kind projects related to the operationalization of Art. 6 of the Paris Agreement, including capacity building content, policy design, and the design and application of tools based on the assessment of country readiness for cooperative approaches, among others. He has a deep understanding of the readiness level and needs of multiple countries in Africa, LAC, and Asia for advancing the operationalization of Art. 6.2.


Hugh Salway

Hugh Salway is Head of Markets at Gold Standard, a non-profit certification standard that enables companies and activities to measure, manage and maximise impact towards climate and sustainable development goals. Hugh is responsible for Gold Standard’s market development and engagement, including its work to build readiness for implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Hugh previously worked for eight years in the UK Government, including roles focused on international, EU and domestic carbon market mechanisms.


Alexandra Soezer

Alexandra Soezer is Carbon Technical Advisor at UNDP, where she manages the Article 6 Readiness Programme and Article 6.2 Development Services for ITMO generations and transfers. She also provides technical advise related to the design, implementation, capacity building and knowledge sharing on carbon offsets project in the agricultural, waste and energy sectors and ensures alignment with the requirements of Article 6, specifically in the context of bilateral cooperative approaches. Before that, she managed MDG Carbon, UNDP’s corporate framework for carbon finance. Prior to joining UNDP, Alexandra also worked at the Austrian JI/CDM government carbon purchasing programme, managed by Kommunalkredit with a purchasing target of more than 30 million tCO2e as technical expert, responsible for the negotiation of Emission Reduction Purchasing Agreements.


Kentaro Takahashi

Kentaro Takahashi is Deputy Director, Climate and Energy Area with the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES). Mr. Takahashi joined IGES in 2009 and engaged on several projects such as capacity building programme on CDM in Asia Pacific Region, Article 6 implementation and MRV programme under the Joint Crediting Mechanism. He also has been supporting the government of Japan at UNFCCC negotiations on Article 6 as one of the delegation members.


Course experts are listed in alphabetical order.