Japan, Thailand to Report Climate Credit Sharing to U.N. after Japanese Tech Helps to Cut Thailand’s Emissions

By Tomoko Kito and Hiroto Nishihara / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

15:03 JST, November 12, 2025

BELEM, Brazil — Japan and Thailand have agreed to report to the United Nations that Japan will receive credits for some of the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions realized through decarbonization technology that it provided to Thailand, the Environment Ministry announced Tuesday.

Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara will attend the 30th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP30), which opened in the northern Brazilian city of Belem on Monday, and will stress this agreement as a win for Japan.

Japan uses the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), which facilitates emissions reductions in other countries and allows Japan to claim some of these reductions as credits. According to the ministry, a Tokyo-based company receiving JCM subsidies installed floating solar panels in Thailand to supply power to factories. This reduced electricity consumption from thermal power plants, contributing to Thailand’s greenhouse gas reduction efforts.

Japan and Thailand agreed to allocate a portion of the emissions reductions achieved through this initiative to Japan and report it to the United Nations. This marks the first time that Japan’s reduction credits under the JCM will be included in a U.N. report.

On the first day of the COP30 summit, the agenda for negotiations was set. Talks will cover how to develop common metrics to assess countries’ progress on measures to mitigate the effects of global warming. The United States, which has announced its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, an international framework to address global warming, did not send a delegation. Negotiations will go into full swing with ministerial meetings and other sessions and will run until the conference closes on Nov. 21.