Uzbekistan has submitted its first transfer of mitigation outcomes, generated by projects reducing gas leakages across the country’s network, according to Carbon Pulse. The same report counts 13 new activities proposed under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism in October, according to Carbon Pulse. The pairing moves the Central Asian country from Article 6 preparation into live trading, at a moment when buyers of Paris-aligned credits are scanning for new host countries with functioning transfer arrangements.

A first transfer built on gas leakage cuts

Data published by the UN Environment Programme Copenhagen Climate Centre shows the transfer, according to Carbon Pulse. The centre’s Article 6 Pipeline, last updated on 5 November 2026, records 7.79 million ITMOs transferred or received for Uzbekistan, alongside two bilateral agreements, two cooperative approaches and two Article 6.2 activities, according to the pipeline’s country page.

In its initial report under Article 6.2, the government names the cooperative approach Reducing Gas Leakages within the Hududgaz Gas Distribution Network Across Uzbekistan. The filing describes a chain in which credits are issued under Verra methodology AM0023, serialized as mitigation outcomes, held in an interim government ledger and then transferred to the acquiring party’s registry, according to the report on the UNFCCC submissions portal.

Interim rules, with a national registry still to come

Uzbekistan is still developing a formal national framework for Article 6 implementation. Until the framework is finalized, authorizations for cooperative approaches are issued through the Ministry of Economy and Finance, which conducts due diligence, approves participation and posts Letters of Authorization for entities and mitigation outcomes, according to the initial report. Interim procedures dated 14 December 2025 allow the ministry to issue those letters, and Uzbekistan authorizes the use of ITMOs both towards NDCs and for other international mitigation purposes, the filing states.

The country is developing a national Article 6 registry to record the authorization, issuance, transfer, acquisition and use of ITMOs. During the interim period, serialized mitigation outcome data is maintained in a secure government ledger aligned with the registry of the applicable crediting programme, according to the filing. The report’s flow diagram shows an annual indicative corresponding adjustment, with a final adjustment in 2030.

Thirteen proposals meet an empty approval column

None of the 13 activities proposed in October has yet cleared the first gate. The pipeline page shows zero PACM activities approved by the host country, zero PACM activities registered and zero A6.4 ERs issued for Uzbekistan, according to UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre data. Participation requirements for the mechanism have not been submitted, and the designated national authority is the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the page states.

The wider account gives the pipeline context. Uzbekistan’s total emissions stand at 188 million tonnes CO2e, or 5.27 tonnes CO2e per person, according to the country page. Its most recent NDC, from 2025, commits the country to reducing greenhouse gas emissions per unit of GDP 50% below 2010 by 2035, according to the initial report. Uzbekistan signed the Paris Agreement on 19 April 2017 and ratified it on 9 November 2018.

Why the first transfer matters for buyers and developers

A reported first transfer is the strongest signal yet that Uzbekistan’s Article 6 arrangements can carry a transaction end to end: authorization, serialization, ledger tracking and the transfer itself. For buyers, the authorization of ITMOs for other international mitigation purposes, alongside NDC use, means demand need not come only from governments closing their own NDC gaps. Neither the Carbon Pulse report nor the pipeline data identifies the acquiring party or a price for the transfer, leaving the commercial terms undisclosed.

For developers, the reference case is fugitive methane from gas distribution. The first cooperative approach relies on AM0023, a methodology under Verra, showing that Article 6.2 transfers from Uzbekistan can ride on established voluntary market infrastructure while the national registry is built.

What to watch

Three markers stand out. The first is approvals: whether any of the 13 proposed PACM activities wins host country endorsement, which would move the approval column off zero. The second is infrastructure: progress on the national Article 6 registry and submission of PACM participation requirements. The third is accounting: the final corresponding adjustment in 2030 will show how the transferred outcomes settle against Uzbekistan’s NDC.