Indonesia’s Forestry Ministry is continuing to strengthen the development of a high-integrity forest carbon market to open up opportunities for international cooperation and climate financing. The effort was discussed at a dialogue session titled “Integrity Forest Carbon: Indonesia’s Pathway under Article 6” at the Indonesia Pavilion during the 31st UN Climate Change Conference (COP31) in Antalya on Friday.
At the forum, the ministry outlined opportunities for developing forestry carbon trading through Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The mechanism allows countries to cooperate in achieving emissions reduction targets, including through the trading of verified mitigation outcomes as well as non-market forms of cooperation.
The development of a forest carbon market is seen as having the potential to support funding for forest protection, sustainable forest management, ecosystem restoration and the achievement of national climate targets. However, tapping these opportunities must be backed by credible, transparent and accountable governance to ensure that every traded emissions reduction has high environmental integrity.
In its presentation, the ministry identified three international market opportunities for Indonesia’s nature-based carbon: Singapore, through its scheme allowing carbon tax obligations to be offset with credits; Japan, through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM); and the international aviation sector, through the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA). Each has its own requirements regarding methodology, verification, authorization and the eligibility of carbon credits.
The ministry stressed that international carbon trading under Article 6.2 requires authorization from the host country’s government, verifiable emissions accounting and a corresponding adjustment in line with applicable rules. The arrangement is important to ensure that emissions reductions are not claimed more than once by different parties or countries.
