Canada announces it is developing an ITMO framework

On 24 September 2026, Julie Dabrusin, Canada’s Minister of the Environment, Climate Change and Nature, announced that the federal government is developing a policy framework for trading internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs). According to the government, the move could allow Canadian companies to participate in international carbon markets, drive investment in mitigation activities such as carbon removal technologies and nature-based solutions, and create export opportunities for Canadian technology and expertise. Dabrusin said it is about “turning our natural advantages and homegrown climate innovation into investment, good jobs, and new export opportunities.”

The framework is still under development. The government will consult provinces, territories, Indigenous organizations and other partners on how ITMOs could work in Canada; which projects and mitigation outcomes will be eligible awaits the final rules.

What are ITMOs and corresponding adjustments?

ITMOs stem from the cooperative approaches under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement: one country can authorize the transfer of emission reductions or removals to another country, which can then count them toward its national climate target. To prevent the same outcome from being counted by both countries, the two must apply a “corresponding adjustment.” Canada stresses that any carbon credits used as ITMOs must meet Article 6 requirements, ensuring that reductions and removals are real, additional, verified and permanent, and avoiding double counting; participating countries must also put in place arrangements to track and account for reductions.

What it means for carbon removal

CarbonCredits.com notes that Canada has geological formations suited to CO₂ storage, clean electricity, and experience with energy and industrial infrastructure, giving carbon removal technologies such as direct air capture (DAC) and bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) a chance to become part of an emerging Canadian clean-tech export industry. Under the ITMO framework, Canadian projects that generate eligible mitigation outcomes and receive authorization could transfer them abroad under Article 6.2 agreements, and the revenue could help improve the economics of technologies that are still early-stage and costly. The article cites more recent modelling by Carbon Removal Canada estimating that by 2050 carbon removal could add $78 billion to Canada’s annual GDP and create or support about 300,000 jobs. The government also says the framework complements the more than $13 billion in international climate finance in the Spring Economic Update.

What it means for Taiwan

Taiwan is not a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), so it cannot directly take part, as a Party, in the country-to-country authorizations and corresponding adjustments under Article 6. Even so, international carbon markets place growing weight on additionality, permanence and the avoidance of double counting, principles that are just as relevant to Taiwan. Taiwan has already launched its carbon fee system and established a domestic emission reduction credit mechanism. As carbon removal is gradually brought into cross-border trading, how the quality requirements and accounting rules for domestic credits align with international practice is worth watching, though the specific implications will need careful assessment as domestic regulations develop.

Sources

CarbonCredits.com (2026-10-02): https://carboncredits.com/how-canadas-new-itmo-framework-could-unlock-international-carbon-markets/
Environment and Climate Change Canada (2026-09-24): https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2026/09/federal-government-developing-framework-for-greater-international-cooperation-on-carbon-markets.html