Japan and Mongolia have agreed that they will report to the United Nations a portion of their reductions of greenhouse gas emissions achieved through decarbonization technologies Japan provided to Mongolia as part of Japan’s own efforts at cutbacks, according to sources.

The reduction credits that Japan will earn will total over 80,000 tons — the largest amount to date. Japan can accumulate these reduction credits, and Mongolia benefits by improving its decarbonization technologies.

This arrangement is based on the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM), a system Japan introduced independently to allocate emission reductions between two countries. Mongolia is the fourth country to participate in the program.

According to the Environment Ministry, companies in Osaka and Gunma prefectures that received JCM subsidies installed solar panels at farms and an airport near Ulaanbaatar. They have reportedly helped reduce Mongolia’s emissions for the 2021–2025 period by the equivalent of about 214,000 tons of carbon dioxide. Mongolia relies on coal-fired power for the majority of its electricity generation, and air pollution is becoming a serious problem. For Japan, expanding decarbonization technologies overseas can lead to economic growth.

On Tuesday, the two countries agreed to allocate about 86,500 tons — a portion of the total reduction — to Japan’s reduction tally. This will be reported to the United Nations under the Paris Agreement, the international framework for climate change measures.

Japan has previously shared emission reductions with three countries — Thailand, the Maldives and Palau — but the maximum reduction it had secured was about 1,000 tons from Thailand. Japan’s emissions for fiscal 2024 totaled about 1.046 billion tons, and the government aims to achieve a total reduction of 100 million tons through the JCM by fiscal 2030.

“We hope to use this achievement as a catalyst to encourage further participation by domestic companies in the JCM,” a senior ministry official said.

Published Date:2026-07-02