Participants pose for a photo at the 2026 ITMO Partners launch ceremony held at Joseon Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Korea Environment Corporation]
Participants pose for a photo at the 2026 ITMO Partners launch ceremony held at Joseon Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday. [Korea Environment Corporation]

The Korea Environment Corporation, an agency under the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy, held a "Review Committee Workshop" and the "ITMO Partners Launch Ceremony" at Joseon Palace Hotel in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday to advance the country's efforts to secure internationally transferred mitigation outcomes.

An ITMO, or Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome, is the unit under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement by which greenhouse gas reductions achieved through international cooperation are transferred between countries — and the tangible result of international mitigation projects.

The events were organized to discuss concrete implementation strategies with review committee members drawn from various fields of expertise, as part of efforts to meet the country's nationally determined contribution targets.

The review committee workshop brought together about 30 specialists in climate change response, international cooperation, finance, accounting and law to discuss practical measures for securing international mitigation credits.

The workshop comprised four thematic presentations and discussions: the Paris Agreement and carbon market framework; international mitigation projects and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement; the latest international negotiation trends from SB64; and risk management strategies for securing international mitigation credits.

Committee members agreed on the urgency of securing ITMO credits through carbon markets and recommended two key implementation measures: resolving investment-linkage uncertainties through active consultations with partner countries, and building a finance and investment collaboration framework to support companies.

The ITMO Partners launch ceremony that followed was attended by 13 companies newly signed on as partners for 2026.

ITMO Partners is a cooperation framework introduced for the first time this year, designed to position participating companies as collaborative partners that generate mitigation credits alongside the corporation.

The ceremony provided practical operational information on three topics: policy finance and consulting programs; greenhouse gas reduction calculation procedures; and project cost accounting and settlement procedures.

The corporation said it would build a comprehensive support system encompassing investment linkage, financial support and operational consulting, and pledged close assistance to help participating companies generate tangible ITMO results.

Earlier, the corporation signed an agreement with IBK Industrial Bank of Korea in April to address financing difficulties faced by companies in the field, providing investment design and financial consulting support. It plans to designate a project cost accounting and settlement agency in July to ease the administrative burden on companies.

Cha Gwang-myeong, the corporation's executive director of management planning, said securing international mitigation credits is a national task that can no longer be deferred. "We will take the lead in consultations with partner countries and in strengthening corporate capacity," he said. "We will work together with our partner companies to deliver results, from feasibility studies all the way through to investment project connections."

Meanwhile, the corporation plans to host an "International Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Forum" in October, building on Wednesday's events, with a phased expansion of expert panel discussions by subcommittee, corporate training sessions and investment project linkages.


thlee@heraldcorp.com