Governments increasingly shape carbon markets, with 148 Article 6.2 agreements signed

Governments are increasingly influencing carbon markets, with 148 Article 6.2 agreements or memoranda of understanding signed globally. While progress is steady, only a few have resulted in actual Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) transfers, with Thailand's transactions with Switzerland being a clear example. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is transitioning to the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism (PACM) by late 2026, raising quality concerns for projects using older methodologies. Host countries are beginning to treat mitigation outcomes as sovereign assets; Kazakhstan, for instance, legislated a 30-50% ITMO retention ratio for its own Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC). This trend, coupled with rising demand for high-integrity, authorised credits from compliance schemes and corporate net-zero commitments, is creating a supply shortage.