Singapore and World Bank team up to launch carbon markets programme

[SINGAPORE] The Singapore government has partnered with the World Bank Group to launch the Singapore Carbon Markets Programme, the latest initiative under the World Bank Group’s strategic partnership with Singapore.The programme was officially unveiled on Wednesday (May 20) at the Innovate4Climate conference held in Suntec Singapore Convention & Exhibition Centre from May 20 to 22.A statement said the programme “aims to tackle common problems that hinder the development and scaling up of carbon markets, and to support countries to enhance technical capabilities, institutional capacity and digital infrastructure in building capacity to benefit from high-integrity carbon markets”.The initiative will be rolled out with three core components:First, it will focus on strengthening carbon market infrastructure and technology. The programme will deliver toolkits to help countries to build inter-operable carbon registries aligned with international standards.The programme will also enable digital carbon-abatement monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) for new credit types, such as regenerative agriculture.Second, it will facilitate the monetisation of carbon credits.To lower transaction costs, crowd in demand and de-risk projects for developers in underserved markets, the programme will pilot innovative methods to aggregate carbon credit demand and supply at both the buyer and country levels.And third, the initiative aims to support host countries’ capacity building and market readiness. It will support the development of these countries’ national carbon market strategies, policies and institutions, primarily driven by cross-country learning.Jamie Fergusson, director for climate at the World Bank Group, said: “Carbon markets can become a source of climate finance for developing countries – but only if countries have the infrastructure, market confidence and technical capacity to participate with integrity.”The statement said the programme draws on the World Bank’s expertise and experience in providing technical assistance and financing to countries, and delivering benefits to local communities.And Singapore “offers a strong enabling environment for this programme”, it added, noting that the country implemented a carbon tax in 2019, has signed carbon-credit purchase agreements with multiple host countries, and has embarked on efforts to grow an ecosystem of carbon-market players, service providers and exchanges.Highlighting Singapore’s broader climate ambitions, Benedict Chia, director-general for climate change at the National Climate Change Secretariat, said: “Singapore is committed to advancing high-integrity carbon markets as a key pillar of both global climate action and sustainable development.“We hope this programme will strengthen confidence in the global carbon market and help ensure that host countries can meaningfully participate in and benefit from it.”