(Bloomberg) -- South Korea is planning its first fund that will seek to generate internationally exchangeable carbon credits that can be used to meet its climate goals. 

The Asian nation will seek to raise at least 1 billion won ($727,000) and potentially about 10 billion won for the fund, which will be set up with local brokerage firms before the end of this year, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The fund will support emissions reduction projects around the globe, generating carbon units known as Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes that Korea can use to offset its emissions.

Governments from Switzerland to Japan have entered bilateral agreements with developing nations where mitigation projects can take place to offset domestic pollution. The new fund will provide South Korea with a budget to also tap the mechanism, which has struggled to get full United Nations backing, and allow it to offset almost 38 million tons of its emissions by the end of the decade. 

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South Korea, which has pledged to cut emissions by 40% from 2018 levels by 2030 and reach carbon neutrality by mid-century, is waiting for the result of third-party consultations that will help it design the fund, the ministry said. It will seek to expand the size of the fund over time. 

The new UN-overseen emissions market was left in limbo after negotiators last year failed to agree on standards, following a European Union-led push for stricter norms. It will be discussed further at a key climate summit in Azerbaijan in November.

(Updates with additional details from ministry in second paragraph.)

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