International carbon credits are back in the policy conversation—especially after the EU’s new 2040 proposal reopened the question of whether (and how) Paris Agreement Article 6 credits might play a role.

But “offsets” are a loaded term for a reason: past systems created large volumes of credits, and a recurring critique is that too many didn’t represent real, additional emissions cuts.

So what is Article 6, what’s genuinely different under Paris, and what still isn’t settled?

In Episode #17, I’m joined by Beatriz Granziera (Senior Policy Advisor at The Nature Conservancy), who works on Article 6 negotiations and implementation, including supporting developing countries on domestic Article 6 policy.

We cover:

• What Article 6 is trying to do—and the difference between 6.2 (bilateral/decentralized) and 6.4 (UN-governed centralized mechanism)
• Why Paris differs from Kyoto: every country has an NDC, so accounting rules matter—and how corresponding adjustments aim to prevent double counting
• A market reality check: many agreements, but very little actual trading so far—and why countries may be cautious about selling reductions they might need for their own targets
• The EU angle: why EU demand could reshape standards (and why details matter more than slogans)
• Transitioning old Kyoto/CDM projects into Article 6.4: what “flooding” risks look like in practice and why host-country approval becomes pivotal
• The core tension ahead: quality vs scale—rules can be strong on paper, but too stringent rules can leave a mechanism that can’t generate meaningful supply

Article 6 Explainer by the Nature Conservancy: https://www.nature.org/content/dam/tnc/nature/en/documents/TNC_Article_6_Explainer.pdf

For questions, comments or suggestions, you can contact me at arvid.viaene.ce@gmail.com