UN carbon market body adopts N₂O methodology to cut industrial emissions

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🗞️ Driving the news: The UN Article 6.4 Supervisory Body has adopted a new methodology to reduce nitrous oxide (N₂O) emissions from nitric acid production
• This allows eligible nitric acid plants, including many in developing markets, to generate carbon credits under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism
• The approach targets 400–600 facilities worldwide, introducing a new industrial pathway for verified emissions reductions

🔭 The context: N₂O is a highly potent greenhouse gas, with atmospheric levels rising roughly 40% since 1980
• Nitric acid production, central to fertilizer supply chains, is a major source of industrial N₂O emissions
• The new methodology provides a framework for abatement technologies to be scaled and recognized in the carbon market, aligning industrial action with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: N₂O is a gas far more powerful than CO₂
• Incentivizing direct reductions of this gas move can substantially curb industrial climate impacts while supporting sustainable fertilizer production
• Scaling abatement technologies globally helps prevent further warming, particularly in developing countries where emission controls are limited

⏭️ What’s next: Project developers, governments, and corporate buyers can now implement and certify abatement projects under Article 6.4
• It has broadened the UN carbon market into harder-to-abate industrial sectors, increasing high-integrity emissions reductions

💬 One quote: “This is a strong step forward in delivering real emission reductions through the mechanism,” — Mkhuthazi Steleki, Chair of the Supervisory Body

📈 One stat: Global nitric acid production comes from 400–600 plants producing roughly 70 million tonnes annually

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