Environmental NGOs outline safeguards for EU’s potential use of international carbon credits toward 2040 climate target

May 5, 2026 – The European Commission has just closed its consultation on the future framework for international carbon credits and is expected to publish a proposal in the autumn. As the European Union considers how international carbon credits could contribute to its 2040 climate target, Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy have released new analyses on what it would take to design a credible system for their potential use.

 The first paper, Buying the 5%: Funding, Governance and Market Design for the EU’s International Credit Purchases, authored by István Bart of Environmental Defense Fund, examines how the EU could approach funding, governance, and market design for potential international credit purchases.

István Bart, Senior Director, Carbon Pricing, Environmental Defense Fund

“International credits are not something the EU can simply buy off the shelf when it needs them. Buying credits at the scale contemplated for 2040 would not be cheap, and the supply needed will take years to develop. Clear rules and funding commitments would be essential to give the market enough certainty to develop the high-integrity credit supply Europe would need.”

The second paper, International credits in the EU: credit quality criteria and implications for the EU’s purchasing strategy, co-authored by Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy, examines how the EU could define, assess, and safeguard credit quality while building on existing international standards and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Rebecca Humphries, Head of Climate Policy Europe, The Nature Conservancy

“Delivering the 2040 climate target requires the EU to make coordinated, forward‑looking policy choices. A robust international carbon‑credit framework should raise climate ambition, create biodiversity and socio‑economic benefits in partner countries, strengthen Europe’s competitiveness, and reinforce broader strategic objectives. That means eligibility rules grounded in existing best‑practice standards, scaling up nature‑based solutions today while advancing removal technologies to build a resilient portfolio for the future.”

Together, the papers underscore that if international credits are used, they will need to be designed into the EU’s climate framework with clear rules, credible governance, and strong quality safeguards. The EU’s choices in the coming years could shape not only its own 2040 implementation pathway, but also the standards and market signals that influence international carbon markets more broadly.

The papers are part of a broader series from Environmental Defense Fund, Importing international carbon credits to the EU: How to make it work? More information is available here: https://www.edf.org/international-credits-eu 

Environmental Defense Fund and The Nature Conservancy will also co-host a webinar on May 28, 2026, to discuss the role of international credits in the EU’s 2040 climate target and the design choices explored in these papers. Register here.