6 November 2013: The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) and the Korea Environmental Industry and Technology Institute (KEITI) launched the Asian Carbon Footprint Network (ACFN), which is expected to serve as a regional platform to share expertise on carbon labeling and carbon footprint programmes, and to help support markets, producers and consumers to move towards low-carbon pathways.

ACFN will enable consumers to view the carbon dioxide emissions created as a by-product of the manufacturing, transporting or disposing of an item. ACFN’s first meeting brought together regional representatives to discuss methods for compiling carbon labels and producing the Carbon Footprint of Products (CFP), which shows products’ carbon intensity during their life cycles. In his opening remarks, Kilaparti Ramakrishna, ESCAP, described ACFN as “the first regional network in the world dedicated to promoting a carbon labeling progamme.”

China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Thailand have launched carbon labeling or carbon p from 11 countries in East Asia, ACFN aims to exchange information and assist countries in developing methodologies for carbon footprint labels.

The ACFN meeting took place from 30-31 October 2013, in Seoul, Republic of Korea, in conjunction with a series of meetings and seminars on sustainable consumption and production (SCP) and green financing. ESCAP and KEITI have held seminars and workshops on carbon footprinting programmes and potential areas of collaboration since 2011. [UNESCAP Press Release] [ACFN Meeting Website] [ESCAP Newsletter, December 2012]