- Attended the 29th Session of the Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change

On 18 November, the Korea Forest Service (KFS), led by Minister LIM Sang-seop, announced that it had participated in the 29th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), held in Baku, Azerbaijan, from 11 to 22 November. During the conference, the KFS expanded its scope of countries to invest in for overseas forest carbon mitigation projects (REDD+) to countries in Latin America and Africa.

At COP29, a consensus was reached on guidelines for the international carbon market mechanism under Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement, which would allow carbon credits to be traded in a market operated by the UN.

This mechanism would allow mitigation outcomes derived from developed countries investments to developing countries, to be counted towards the donor’s mitigation targets. As a result, fierce competition is anticipated to arise among countries to secure cost-effective REDD+ project sites.

In its efforts to obtain overseas forest carbon credits, the KFS delegation hosted a side event in Baku to attract partners to receive investment. This event covered topics such as enhancing carbon absorption in tropical forests, cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, the development of the Republic of Korea’s forest carbon market, and etc.

The delegation also introduced ROK’s policies, seeking support from international organizations and encouraging participation from developing countries.

As a result, tropical rainforest countries in Latin America such as Honduras, Peru, and Paraguay, each recommended two promising regions for carbon credit investment. Ghana also plans to suggest two mangrove afforestation sites in its inland waters.

Moreover, the KFS reached an agreement with Uganda, which has significant carbon absorption potential in its tropical rainforests, to sign a Letter of Intent in the first half of next year for a sub-national level project.

The KFS also engaged in discussions with Azhikeev Boobek, Minister of Emergency Situations of Kyrgyzstan, to strengthen bilateral forestry cooperation through forest restoration, disaster management, and seed conservation in Central Asia as part of efforts to respond to the climate crisis.

Currently, the KFS is implementing a sub-national level REDD+ project in the Phongsaly Province of Lao PDR.

NAM Song Hee, Director General of the International Affairs Bureau at the KFS, stated, “We are focusing on securing REDD+ project sites to achieve our national greenhouse gas mitigation targets of 5 million tons by 2030. We will continue to identify new partner countries, particularly in developing countries, and strengthen our policy framework to support stable investments by Korean companies.”