Canada opens door to international carbon markets in push to build carbon removal industry

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day, reviewed by our editorial team. Read the full piece on Carbon Herald or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Canada is exploring a policy framework that would allow Canadian companies to participate in international carbon markets by trading Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes (ITMOs) under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement
• The government says the framework could help channel international capital into emissions reductions, carbon removal and nature-based solutions

🔭 The context: Ottawa sees international market access as a potential way to scale Canada’s emerging carbon-removal sector, leveraging its clean electricity, industrial capabilities and geological storage potential
• The proposed system would need safeguards against double counting, while consultations with provinces, territories and Indigenous organizations will shape the final framework

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: International carbon markets could help finance additional emissions reductions and durable carbon-removal projects in Canada
• Their climate value would depend on robust accounting, environmental integrity and ensuring transferred reductions are genuinely additional and not double counted

⏭️ What’s next: Canada plans to consult stakeholders before establishing a final ITMO trading system
• The initiative could also become part of a broader effort to connect Canada’s domestic carbon markets with international demand

💬 One quote: “The trading of ITMOs [...] can unlock greater global climate action by making it easier to transfer emission reductions and removals between countries.” — Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s environment minister

📈 One stat: C$900 million — the approximate value of potential Canadian carbon-removal credit sales that the Carbon Business Council says are awaiting a clear pathway to international markets.

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