Busan is good

Busan Pioneers Korea’s First Forest-Sector Carbon Credit Project Within Organizational Boundaries, Presenting a New Carbon Asset Model

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Busan Metropolitan City (Mayor Park Heong-joon) announced that Haeundae Arboretum has become the first case in Korea to receive approval from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for registration as a forest-sector external project within organizational boundaries under the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme (hereinafter referred to as the forest-sector emissions trading external project).

On March 10, the city officially obtained approval for the “carbon sink enhancement project through the development of Busan Haeundae Arboretum.”

The forest-sector emissions trading external project is a system that allows companies and local governments to receive government certification for carbon dioxide absorption achieved through trees and wood products, and to trade the resulting credits in the emissions trading market.

Amid ongoing global efforts to achieve national greenhouse gas reduction targets, this system is gaining attention as a key means of accomplishing such goals.

An external project refers to a project that reduces, absorbs, or removes greenhouse gases outside the organizational boundary of carbon-emitting facilities. It means that no carbon-emitting facilities exist within the project application site, and that greenhouse gases are reduced, absorbed, or removed.

Although Haeundae Arboretum, a former landfill, does not have direct carbon-emitting facilities, greenhouse gases are still emitted. As a result, under existing project guidelines, it had been considered difficult to register as a project implemented within organizational boundaries that include carbon-emitting facilities.

However, the city demonstrated the project’s logical validity to the Ministry of Environment by applying provisions that recognize projects creating carbon sinks through tree planting on idle land without emission facilities and those that reduce, absorb, or remove greenhouse gases in accordance with international standards.

As a result, following consultation with the Ministry of Environment, the project passed deliberation by the 67th Emissions Certification Committee and was recognized, for the first time nationwide, as a carbon sink within organizational boundaries. This achievement is significant not only as a case of proactive administration overcoming institutional limitations, but also for presenting a “Busan-style carbon credit model” that opens new possibilities for securing carbon credits.

Once fully implemented, Haeundae Arboretum is expected to absorb a total of 1,365 tons of carbon over the 15-year period from 2026 to 2041. This is equivalent to offsetting the annual greenhouse gas emissions of approximately 570 internal combustion passenger vehicles.

The reduction performance will undergo verification and be converted into carbon credits (KOC), which are expected to be utilized to support carbon-neutral management by local companies and to secure greenhouse gas reduction performance. The city plans to reinvest revenue from credit sales into green projects such as urban forest creation, thereby establishing a virtuous carbon cycle structure.

In addition, based on this achievement, the city plans to expand the project in stages. It will first pursue external project registration within this year for the wildfire-affected area of Unbongsan Mountain (27 hectares) in Haeundae-gu, and introduce a precision survey system using artificial intelligence (AI)-based LiDAR technology to systematically manage carbon sinks across idle land, forests, and parks throughout the city.

Mayor Park Heong-joon stated, “The former landfill, once regarded as a nuisance facility, has been transformed into a valuable carbon asset that responds to the climate crisis, beyond serving as an arboretum for citizens’ relaxation,” adding, “We will continue to expand the Busan-style carbon credit model nationwide and lead Korea’s carbon neutrality efforts.”