Korea Exchange signs MOU with BeZero Carbon to launch high-integrity carbon credit market

Korea Exchange has teamed up with a global carbon credit rating agency to establish a high-quality carbon credit market trusted at home and abroad.

Korea Exchange (KRX) announced Wednesday that it signed an MOU with BeZero Carbon, a global carbon credit rating agency, in London on Tuesday (local time).

Carbon credit markets facilitate the trading of certified carbon reduction outcomes. Their use has been expanding beyond voluntary corporate carbon neutrality goals to include the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA), Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and offset mechanisms under emissions trading systems.

BeZero Carbon plays a role similar to that of a credit rating agency in bond markets.

KRX is currently working to launch a "KRX Carbon Credit Market" with the aim of supporting the government's Korean voluntary carbon market policy and positioning itself as a hub for Asian carbon markets.

Through the agreement, the two sides plan to secure high integrity for the market.

Under the MOU, the two organizations will cooperate across a broad range of areas: identifying high-quality domestic carbon credits, providing analytical data and conducting credit assessments to support the establishment of listing standards, and developing education and market development initiatives related to the carbon credit market.

Going forward, KRX plans to use ratings and reports from BeZero and similar agencies as key indicators during listing reviews, and to make them available to investors as reference material for trading decisions after listing.

"We signed this agreement with BeZero to build a voluntary carbon market that is trusted internationally, together with the government," KRX Chairman Jeong Eun-bo said. "We will work hard to actively support high-integrity carbon reduction projects so that the KRX Carbon Credit Market can lead Asia."

BeZero Carbon CEO Tommy Ricketts welcomed the partnership. "Korea is moving very quickly to build a credible voluntary carbon market," he said. "It is very encouraging that KRX has placed quality at the center of its market design, and we are honored to support what could become one of Asia's key carbon markets."

Also on Wednesday, KRX co-hosted a seminar with the Emissions Trading Market Council at its Yeouido headquarters in Seoul. The seminar was held under the theme "The Full Launch of the Fourth Phase of K-ETS: Policy Transformation and Response Strategies for Market Participants."