South Korea on Wednesday issued the first offsets eligible for use in its ETS, market sources said.

The Ministry of Environment was expected to hold its first issuance meeting this week, although it has not made any announcements about it and did not immediately respond to emails.

Two market sources told Carbon Pulse the issuances went through on Wednesday, although no information was available on the volume.

Trading firm Ecoeye had estimated beforehand that up to 1.9 million Korea Offset Credits (KOCs) could be issued.

The ministry will issue KOCs against the proof of cancellations of CERs from South Korea-based CDM projects that were generated after April 2010.

Emitters covered by the ETS have said they would welcome offset supply, as it may alleviate some of the market’s scarcity. The companies claim they have received 20% fewer permits than they need, which, if accurate, would leave the market short around 100 million permits a year.

KAUs closed Thursday at 10,100 won ($9.22) with no deals reported since Feb. 23.

By Stian Reklev – stian@carbon-pulse.com