Non-Market Climate Action Gains Ground
At COP30 in Belém, Non-Market Approaches (NMAs) gained significant momentum by formally being linked to the UNFCCC's Mitigation Work Programme, elevating their role as a crucial complement to market-based climate action under Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement.
Non-market approaches (NMAs) to addressing climate change reached an important turning point at COP30, held in Belém, Brazil. As countries gathered in the “Capital of the Amazon,” work under Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement advanced through both technical exchanges and formal negotiations, strengthening the role of NMAs as a complement to market-based mechanisms. For the first time, NMAs were explicitly linked to the UNFCCC’s Mitigation Work Programme (MWP), marking a significant step in recognising climate action that goes beyond carbon markets.
Advancing understanding through the Glasgow Committee
The Glasgow Committee on Non-Market Approaches (GCNMA) met for the seventh time since its establishment in 2021, continuing its role as the primary forum for sharing experiences, challenges, and opportunities related to NMA implementation. Discussions reflected the growing diversity of non-market solutions being pursued across regions and sectors.
Country presentations highlighted this breadth. Japan shared examples of adaptation best practices, including disaster resilience, improved composting technologies, and systems for early decision-making and rapid response. Malaysia presented its experience with forest conservation certification schemes, while Uganda reflected on lessons learned from the Adaptation Benefit Mechanism (ABM), the first initiative formally recognised and registered on the NMA Platform.
Non-state actors also made strong contributions. The NDC Partnership highlighted its model of international cooperation, supporting developing countries through technical assistance and funding to advance non-market climate actions. CIAT/CGIAR, in its role as a registered support provider to the NMA Platform, shared lessons from project development in Bolivia and Colombia, underscoring the value of multilateral engagement to raise awareness, exchange experiences, and support collective progress.
Regional perspectives were reinforced by contributions from the Latin American Climate Lawyers Initiative (LACLIMA) and the Plataforma Boliviana Frente al Cambio Climático (PBFCC). These organisations showcased proposed NMAs and demonstrated how the NMA Platform can help bridge local initiatives, contributors, and capacity-building providers. Highlighted sectors included eco-tourism, energy transition projects, regulatory standards and voluntary agreements, just transition initiatives, and non-market-based payments for ecosystem services.
Parties agreed to continue encouraging use of the NMA Platform as a central tool for sharing information on opportunities, best practices, enabling conditions, and barriers related to NMAs. Parties and observers were also invited to submit views on topics for upcoming in-session workshops at the ninth and tenth GCNMA meetings, scheduled for SB64 in Bonn (June 2026) and SB65/COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye (November 2026).
Strengthening NMAs within the UNFCCC framework
Formal negotiations at COP30 marked a shift toward deeper recognition of climate action that does not rely on market mechanisms. Parties highlighted linkages between NMAs and broader UNFCCC workstreams, including just transition, ecosystem integrity, biodiversity protection, and “Mother Earth-centric” approaches.
Three key outcomes emerged from the negotiations.
First, Parties agreed that the NMA Platform will be used to record initiatives contributing to the implementation of the Sharm el-Sheikh Mitigation Ambition and Implementation Work Programme. This decision significantly expands the scope of NMAs within the UNFCCC and formally recognises their role in raising ambition. It brings visibility to actions such as halting and reversing deforestation and forest degradation, strengthening biodiversity, water and food security, and recognising the role of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. By positioning the NMA Platform as an official channel for registration, NMAs are embedded more firmly within the global architecture for showcasing climate action linked to Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). The next SBSTA meeting in June 2026 will consider the technical functionalities of this expanded system.
Second, in preparation for the comprehensive review of the NMA work programme in 2026, the UNFCCC Secretariat will produce a synthesis report drawing on discussions from the Glasgow Committee, experiences of National Focal Points, and inputs from stakeholders. The report will map support provided and needed to implement NMAs, identify synergies with other UNFCCC bodies and processes, and highlight barriers to NMA registration and to raising ambition through NDCs. This analysis will be central to shaping the next phase of work under Article 6.8.
Third, Parties reaffirmed that the NMA Platform is a dynamic space for collaboration, designed to connect actors and support the identification, development, and implementation of NMAs. Improvements were agreed, including new country filters such as “Small Island Developing States” and expanded categorisation of NMAs by sector, including ecosystems. The issue of registration by a single Party was deferred and will be revisited following completion of the 2026 review.
Looking ahead
The coming period for Article 6.8 will focus on reviewing progress and defining the next phase of the NMA work programme, alongside further refinements to the NMA Platform. Parties will consider submissions from governments and observers, as well as inputs from upcoming workshops, with the aim of adopting a new work programme to guide implementation beyond 2026.
The COP30 decision text explicitly invites non-Party stakeholders to provide views on their experience with NMAs and the NMA Platform, as well as on how to improve the effectiveness of work programme activities. These inputs will feed into the CMA3-mandated review at SBSTA 64 and 65 in 2026 and inform recommendations for adoption at CMA8 in Antalya.
CGIAR is well positioned to contribute to this review. As a registered support provider, The Alliance of Bioversity and CIAT, a CGIAR research center, has supported documentation of projects in Colombia and Bolivia that could be registered as NMAs and shared lessons during the GCNMA in-session workshop in Belém.
These experiences provide concrete evidence of how NMAs can operate in practice within agriculture and food systems. By bringing this experience into the review process, CGIAR can help ensure that the next phase of Article 6.8 implementation is grounded in real-world delivery and contributes meaningfully to systemic climate action under the Paris Agreement.