The Ministry of Environment (Minister Kim Wansup) announced that it will sign a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on February 13 at the HJ Business Center (Jongno-gu, Seoul) with five affiliated and subordinate organizations*, including the National Institute of Environmental Research and the Korea Environment Institute, to promote international greenhouse gas reduction in developing countries.

* National Institute of Environmental Research, Greenhouse Gas Inventory and Research Center of Korea, K-water, Korea Environment Corporation, Sudokwon Landfill Site Management Corp.

This MOU was established to support the obligations of developing countries under Article 6 of the UN Paris Agreement. The obligations under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement consist of: 1) establishing procedures and systems from the approval of international reduction projects to the issuance of reduction performance, 2) verification and certification of international reduction performance, 3) preparation and submission of national reports, and 4) establishment and operation of a registry for tracking reduction performance. 

International organizations such as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) operate a “Readiness Program” to assist developing countries in preparing for greenhouse gas reductions. However, not all developing countries have access to this support process.

The participating organizations in this agreement have practical experience in areas related to international greenhouse gas reduction projects, including designing laws and regulations, verification and certification of greenhouse gas reductions, preparing biennial transparency reports (BTR), and implementing reduction projects.

The Ministry plans to develop and operate a “Korean Readiness Program” to support greenhouse gas reduction projects in developing countries, based on the expertise and experience of these organizations. 

First, a capacity-building support program for developing countries will be established based on the experiences of each organization. The Ministry plans to establish a management system to ensure that the necessary greenhouse gas reduction capacity-building support programs are provided in a timely manner in developing countries. 

Ahn Se-chang, Deputy Minister of the Climate Change and Carbon Neutral Policy Office, stated, “The Korean Readiness Program is a significant initiative to support developing countries through Korea’s expertise in the climate sector.” He added, “The Ministry will actively support this process to ensure that domestic companies can pursue international reduction projects in a timely manner.”

For further information, please contact the Public Relations Division. 

Contact person: Gina Lee, foreign media spokesperson

Phone: +82-44-201-6055

Email: gcjgina @gmail.com