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Green and lucrative: Localities create 'carbon assets' to cut emissions, earn revenue with tradable credits

Published: 11 Apr. 2026, 08:00

People walk through Haeundae Arboretum in Haeundae District, Busan, in May 2021. [SONG BONG-GEUN]

As demands for carbon neutrality and emissions reductions increase, local governments are jumping into projects to create “carbon assets.” Even urban areas are also using parks and idle land to cut emissions and secure tradable carbon credits for revenue.

Haeundae Arboretum in Haeundae District, Busan, spans 628,000 square meters (155 acres), about the size of 88 football pitches, and is densely filled with 377,000 trees of 667 species, including cypress, zelkova and pine.

The arboretum site was originally used as a landfill for household waste across Busan from 1987 to 1993. The Busan government invested 84 billion won in national and municipal funds to develop it into an arboretum starting in 2010. It opened in May 2021.

“The trees in the arboretum have been assessed as being able to absorb 1,365 tons of carbon over the next 15 years,” said Kim Byung-kook, a Busan City official in charge of the urban forest landscape. This means the arboretum can absorb the annual carbon emissions of 570 passenger cars.

Haeundae Arboretum received approval last month from the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs to be registered as an “external project under the greenhouse gas emissions trading system,” as its carbon absorption function was recognized, the Busan Metropolitan City said on Thursday.

A view of Haeundae Arboretum in Haeundae District, Busan [SONG BONG-GEUN]

Under this system, facilities are evaluated and granted carbon credits based on the amount of carbon they absorb, allowing the credits to be traded, including being sold to private companies as "carbon assets."

Of the total 377,000 plants in the arboretum, 180,420 are trees, and the project approval was granted based on the carbon absorption capacity of these trees.

“It is impossible to directly measure the amount of carbon absorbed by trees,” Kim said. “Instead, the method converts estimates based on biomass, such as size and diameter, to determine how much carbon trees can absorb.”

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs will verify again in 2030 whether the biomass of the trees at Haeundae Arboretum has been maintained or improved. If it passes verification, Busan is expected to secure 455 tons of carbon credits. These credits are traded at around 10,000 to 40,000 won ($7 to $27) per ton, and the revenue generated from selling them to companies will be reinvested in creating green spaces.

The city that secured the most urban forest approvals under the greenhouse gas emissions trading system is Pohang, North Gyeongsang, with a total of six projects approved: Haedo Urban Forest in 2021, Pohang Railway Forest in 2022, Lifelong Learning Center Cultural Forest (translated) and Yeonil Geunrin Park in 2023, Bukgu District Office and Kkumtree Center Urban Forest in 2024, and Sangdo community baseball field and Yangdeok Hanmaeum Gymnasium urban forest this year.

“Pohang has an image as an industrial city that causes air pollution, so we are making efforts to reduce carbon, including securing approval for external projects under the emissions trading system,” said Jung Sung-jin, a Pohang city official. The approved forests are expected to reduce carbon emissions by 94 tons annually, totaling 2,820 tons over 30 years.

An image of Pohang Railway Forest in Pohang, North Gyeongsang [POHANG CITY]

Largely mountainous Inje County, Gangwon, is the first local government in the country to generate revenue from “carbon money” by using the forest carbon offset system, which certifies and enables the trading of forest carbon absorption amounts for local governments that enhance carbon-reduction and absorption sources, such as forests.

In Inje, two forest areas in Jindong-ri (590,000 square meters) and Seoheung-ri (550,000 square meters) are registered with the Korea Forestry Promotion Institute, totaling 4,149 tons of certified forest carbon absorption to date. The county has traded these credits since December 2021, earning 68 million won in revenue by the end of last year.

“It’s a meaningful policy for achieving carbon neutrality,” Prof. Hwang Hui-young of the Department of Public Administration at Dong-eui University said.

“However, if companies can easily trade emission credits through local governments, their own efforts to reduce carbon emissions may decrease. This is something that should be approached with caution.”

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM MIN-JU, KIM JUNG-SEOK, PARK JIN-HO [[email protected]]