Korea has officially launched its first carbon mitigation project under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, in partnership with the Kingdom of Cambodia. The landmark authorization — granted by the Cambodian government on July 18 and commemorated at an official ceremony on July 21 in Phnom Penh — marks a major milestone in Korea’s global climate action and bilateral cooperation efforts.
The approved project, led by Korean private company VeryWords, aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Cambodia’s transport sector through the deployment of electric motorcycles and the development of supporting charging infrastructure over a ten-year period (2025–2034).The project is expected to reduce 680,000 tCO2eq, of which 400,000 tons will be transferred to Korea and counted toward its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC).
“This is the first approved outcome of Korea’s investment support program, launched in 2023, which provides upfront financing to Korean companies and recovers the investment later in the form of carbon credits,” said a MOTIE representative.

Article 6.2 in Action: From Framework to Implementation

The Ministry of Environment of Cambodia issued a Letter of Authorization (LOA) under its national Article 6 governance framework, officially enabling the project to commence operations in accordance with Cambodia’s rules and procedures.
The issuance of the LOA was made possible through the efforts of a working group comprising the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) of Korea, the Ministry of Environment of Cambodia, and the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI). On the Korean side, KOTRA and the Korea Energy Agency (KEA) participated as working group members. The group jointly reviewed key project elements — including the methodology, total emission reductions, and allocation ratios — which laid the foundation for the official authorization.

Advancing Structural Cooperation Through High-Level Dialogue

Building on this achievement, Korea and Cambodia are now working to expand cooperation beyond individual projects. On July 21–22, high-level bilateral meetings and an International Mitigation Forum were held in Phnom Penh to explore future collaboration in the transport sector.
MOTIE held bilateral meetings with the Ministry of Public Works and Transport (MPWT) and the Ministry of Mines and Energy (MME) of Cambodia, with a focus on establishing government-to-government partnerships in the transport sector.
The forum also brought together key stakeholders from government, industry, and international organizations to discuss future mitigation projects and ways to align carbon market strategies.
“This project reflects the growing maturity of bilateral cooperation under Article 6.2,” said the MOTIE official.
“By aligning policy leadership from Cambodia with Korea’s technology and investment, we are laying the groundwork for scalable, long-term climate partnerships that go beyond individual projects.”