Indonesia, Japan expand forest carbon projects via JCM at COP31
Japan is targeting about 100 million tons of CO2 procurement by 2030, opening a market for Indonesia's nature-based carbon credits.
Indonesia and Japan are expanding forest carbon cooperation through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) after a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the UNFCCC COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, on Monday (9/11). Forestry Deputy Minister Rohmat Marzuki met with Japan's Deputy Environment Minister Hiroshi Ono to advance high-integrity forest carbon projects that also support ecosystem restoration, biodiversity protection, and community welfare. Indonesia brought four priorities: restoring 12 million hectares of degraded land, protecting 50 million hectares of forest from deforestation and degradation, developing 8,3 million hectares of social forestry, and 1,4 million hectares of customary forests. The government also wants peat and mangrove projects to become a core part of the JCM portfolio. The opportunity is strengthening as Japan's GX-ETS emissions trading system moves into a mandatory phase in 2026.