Ministry of Planning and Budget, KCCI and GCC sign MOU to boost voluntary carbon market

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry has agreed to cooperate with the Ministry of Planning and Budget and the Global Carbon Council to develop the domestic carbon market.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry signed an MOU Wednesday morning at its headquarters in Seoul to build a "Korean-style voluntary carbon market ecosystem."

The agreement aims to invigorate the domestic voluntary carbon market, or VCM, and lay the groundwork for linking it to global markets. The signing ceremony was attended by Cho Young-jun, head of the KCCI's Sustainability Management Institute, Deputy Minister of Planning and Budget Cho Yong-beom, and Yousef Mohamed Al-Horr, chairman of the Global Carbon Council. The GCC, founded in Doha, Qatar, in 2016, is the Middle East's first carbon credit certification body.

A VCM is a market where companies, local governments and individuals trade the results of voluntary carbon reduction projects. Unlike the government-mandated greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, participation in a VCM is entirely voluntary.

Under the MOU, the three organizations plan to upgrade carbon credit certification and verification systems in line with international standards, strengthen market infrastructure — including digital systems and trained personnel — and gradually expand the use of domestic carbon reduction credits in international markets.

Specifically, the three parties agreed to cooperate on aligning domestic standards with international frameworks, providing advisory support on methodologies and advancing new ones to international standards, connecting digital measurement, reporting and verification systems and registries, building the capacity of domestic certification and verification bodies, improving access for domestic carbon credits in international markets and enhancing the liquidity of high-quality carbon credits, and expanding market participation and cooperation networks at home and abroad through the K-VCM Alliance and Asia Alliance.

The Ministry of Planning and Budget announced in April a plan to enact legislation this year to open a carbon credit trading market on the Korea Exchange.

The KCCI has operated the Carbon Reduction Certification Center, a leading domestic VCM certification body, since 2023. Companies ranging from large conglomerates such as Samsung Electronics, SK hynix and LG Electronics to climate-tech startups are currently participating in the certification process. The center has registered 32 methodologies and certified approximately 2.9 million tons of carbon reductions.

In addition, the KCCI is building an Asia Alliance with counterpart organizations in five Asian countries, including Singapore, India and Thailand. Qatar's participation in the alliance will extend the network to the Middle East.

"To address the climate crisis, we need to transform carbon reduction into an economic activity that creates new value and opportunities, and activate the VCM that underpins it," Deputy Minister Cho Yong-beom said. "To build the trust that is central to the VCM, we will combine the Ministry of Planning and Budget's policy and fiscal support, the GCC's rigorous and transparent verification system, and the KCCI's carbon reduction certification framework to create a new model of carbon market cooperation linking Asia and the Middle East."

GCC Chairman Al-Horr said South Korea has strong conditions for building a VCM that integrates digital capabilities. "Through this agreement, the GCC will share its expertise in high-quality standards and methodologies, digital MRV and interoperable registry systems, and contribute to developing Korea's carbon market into a credible, scalable market aligned with international standards," he said.

Cho Young-jun, head of the KCCI's Sustainability Management Institute, said the voluntary carbon market is "an important tool for promoting corporate carbon reduction and technological innovation by providing incentives for companies' voluntary additional reduction efforts." He added that the KCCI would work to ensure that strong domestic carbon reduction results are widely recognized in international carbon markets, including across Asia.