UN Climate Change News, 20 February - Efforts to implement the Paris Agreement's new carbon market gathered pace this week, as the UN Body overseeing the work agreed on an accelerated plan to deliver high-quality carbon credits.
Now moving beyond rule‑setting, the Body is focusing on implementation, prioritizing key sectors and speeding up the technical work needed to activate the market.
The work plan agreed this week focused on stepping up the development of methodologies - the technical foundations that ensure emission reductions are real, measurable and verified - for use under the UN‑supervised Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM).
Work will be steered toward sectors with the strongest demand, the highest readiness, and the biggest potential impact.
"This year is about delivery," said newly elected Supervisory Body Chair Mkhuthazi Steleki. "It is a privilege to step into this role as implementation begins, and I am eager to help guide the Body's work. We have set a clear course to focus on priority sectors and finalize robust methodologies so that the mechanism delivers high-quality emission reductions that countries and the private sector can rely on, with the predictability and confidence they need. We will move faster, without compromising integrity."
The Body signed off on a new tool to measure emissions from electricity generation and consumption, along with a tool used to estimate the technical lifetime of equipment used by PACM activities.
"The tools adopted at this meeting show that the mechanism is becoming operational," said new Vice-Chair Jacqui Ruesga. "I'm excited to take on this role and help drive the next phase of work, as we focus on delivering practical, high-quality methodologies that can channel investment where it is needed most. We look forward to working with Parties and stakeholders to scale up ambition while upholding the highest standards of transparency and environmental integrity."
Other outcomes
The Supervisory Body also advanced a range of technical and procedural issues, including:
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Consideration of recommendations from its expert panels, including updates on accreditation and methodology work.
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Adoption of revised procedures for transitioning Clean Development Mechanism activities, following the CMA's extension of the transition deadline to 30 June 2026.
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Progress on the development of a voluntary cancellation platform for the mechanism registry.
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Accreditation decisions for several designated operational entities, strengthening the system's capacity for validation and verification.
These steps support the continued operationalization of the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism.
New chairs elected
At the meeting, the Supervisory Body elected Mr. Mkhuthazi Steleki of South Africa as Chair and Ms. Jacqui Ruesga of New Zealand as Vice‑Chair for the year.
The Body also elected Ms. Adriana Gutierrez of Colombia and Mr. Simon Fellermeyer of Switzerland to serve as co-chairs of the Methodological Expert Panel. Ms. Mominata Elola Compaore of Burkina Faso and Mr. Dexter Lee of the United Kingdom were elected as co-chairs of the Accreditation Expert Panel.
Next steps
The Supervisory Body will next meet 18-21 May 2026 to continue advancing work on methodologies, governance procedures and market readiness.
In the meantime, its expert panels will meet to progress technical work, including the Methodological Expert Panel and the Accreditation Expert Panel.
