Japan climate solutions firm Creattura eyes expansion to rest of Southeast Asia.

RYOTA NISHIYAMA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO — A Japanese provider of climate solutions is looking to expand a project to curb methane emissions from rice paddies in the Philippines in order to create carbon credits.

Tokyo-based Creattura creates carbon credits and supports the promotion of renewable energy. Its project falls under Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism, which provides technological support to emerging economies to reduce their emissions to create credits that Japanese businesses can purchase.

Methane is a greenhouse gas estimated to be more than 20 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Much of the emissions come from countries with large agricultural sectors, such as the Philippines.

Creattura aims to eventually expand the project to other Southeast Asian countries as well. As part of this push, it recently raised around 350 million yen ($2.3 million) in a private placement to DBJ Capital and Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital.

By the end of 2024, Creattura also plans to launch a service that uses artificial intelligence and satellite technology to measure reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

The company currently trades around 400,000 tonnes of carbon credits a year. It aims to boost the figure into the millions by 2028.

Published Date: August 16, 2024