MOTIE to Expand Transportation Cooperation with Cambodia

South Korea has launched its first international carbon credit trading project with Cambodia to achieve its national carbon reduction targets.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy(MOTIE) announced on the 21st that the Cambodian government officially approved on the 18th (local time) the international carbon reduction project led by a Korean company.

The project involves Korean company VERYWORDS supplying electric motorcycles and charging stations in Cambodia, aiming to help reduce a total of 680,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions by 2035.

The South Korean government will secure 400,000 tons of these reductions to contribute to the country’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) target. This is Korea’s first transaction under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to voluntarily cooperate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Previously, MOTIE, the Korea Energy Agency, KOTRA, and Cambodia’s Ministry of Environment formed a working group to discuss reduction methodologies, total reduction volumes, and allocation ratios.

With this project as a starting point, the two countries plan to expand cooperation, particularly in the transportation sector. Following the approval ceremony held in Phnom Penh, MOTIE held bilateral meetings with Cambodia’s Ministry of Public Works and Transport and the Ministry of Mines and Energy to explore further government-level cooperation.

On the 22nd, the “Korea-Cambodia International Carbon Reduction Forum” will be held, where Cambodian government ministries, Korean companies, and international organizations will discuss bilateral carbon market strategies and ways to expand public-private collaboration.

Yoo Beop-min, Director General for Investment Policy at MOTIE, stated, “This project is Korea’s first officially approved international carbon reduction project and the first case of expanding from an individual project to structural cooperation,” adding, “By combining Cambodia’s commitment to carbon reduction with Korean companies’ technology and investment, this will evolve into a win-win government-to-government cooperation model.”

Source | The Korea Herald, July 21, 2025
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