Osaka Gas Co., Ltd. (President: Masataka Fujiwara; hereinafter, “Osaka Gas”) and Marubeni Corporation (President and CEO: Masumi Kakinoki; hereinafter, “Marubeni”) have concluded a memorandum of understanding for a business alliance to develop a system for evaluating the quality of carbon credits.

In recent years, in addition to initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, companies have increasingly been using carbon credits as a means to achieve their carbon neutrality plans. It is estimated that, by 2030, carbon credits worth up to 100 trillion yen will be required globally*1, and the number of carbon credit generation projects (hereinafter, “Credit PJ”) is also expected to increase.

However, as there is the potential of some carbon credits failing to meet quality standards, properly evaluating their quality is crucial both to mitigate quality risks and preclude the potential for greenwashing.

The business alliance between Osaka Gas and Marubeni has been undertaken with the aim of establishing a framework for the utilization of carbon credits that have been evaluated for quality and trustworthiness by leveraging the Carbon Credit Quality Initial Evaluation AI System (hereinafter, the “AI System”), developed by Osaka Gas and constituting the first*2 initiative*3 of its kind globally.

The Osaka Gas AI System uses generative AI to analyze Credit PJ planning documents and evaluate their consistency with multiple standards, thereby allowing the quality of carbon credits to be quickly and easily confirmed. Osaka Gas will focus on further developing this system to expand the scope of carbon credits fields in which it can be applied and to improve the accuracy of the evaluations it conducts.

Marubeni is contributing to the reduction of global GHGs by collaborating with domestic and international operators to conduct and support GHG reduction activities, generate carbon credits, and engage in global carbon credit trading. As part of the business alliance with Osaka Gas, Marubeni will explore the potential to develop and commercialize the AI System, identify needs, and make proposals to create a reliable platform that can be used with confidence.

Osaka Gas and Marubeni aim to contribute to the achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 by disseminating the AI System framework.

*1 According to the Global Carbon Credit Market Report 2024 (Global Information, Inc.)
*2 Based on research conducted by Osaka Gas
*3 Regarding the development of a system to evaluate carbon credit quality using generative AI (announced in October 2024)
     https://www.osakagas.co.jp/en/whatsnew/__icsFiles/afieldfile/2024/10/21/241004_1.pdf
     Initial application to the biochar field has been completed, with a high level of accuracy thereby confirmed

Company Profiles
■Osaka Gas
Company Name	Osaka Gas Co., Ltd.
Representative	Masataka Fujiwara, President
Established	April 1897
Head Office	4-1-2 Hiranomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Japan
Business Description	Production and sale of gas, generation and sale of electrical power, etc.
■Marubeni
Company Name	Marubeni Corporation
Representative	Masumi Kakinoki, President and CEO
Established	December 1949
Head Office	4-2, Otemachi 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Business Description	Engaged in a wide range of business activities through the company’s domestic and overseas networks, including the import and export trades (incorporating third country trade), domestic trade, miscellaneous service operations, domestic and foreign business investments, and resource development.