Singapore will establish a carbon trading market focused on conservation projects, hoping to help protect threatened tropical forests in Southeast Asia while also opening up existing sources of carbon credits to businesses. The newly launched carbon trading market, called Climate Impact X (CIX), will consist of two main platforms: one for companies to invest in conservation projects, and the other for the free trading of large-scale, high-quality carbon credits, primarily targeting multinational corporations and institutional investors. Leveraging its geographical advantages to develop a "nature-based" carbon trading market, CIX is a voluntary carbon trading market jointly established by the Singapore Investment Corporation, the Singapore Stock Exchange, DBS Bank (Singapore's largest bank), and Standard Chartered Bank. In May of this year, Ravi Menon, Managing Director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, stated at an online press conference that CIX has the potential to address Southeast Asia's "fragmented carbon trading market," "low market liquidity, and questionable carbon credit quality." Meng Wen Neng said that in the future, companies of all sizes will be able to purchase high-quality, nature-based carbon credits directly from specific projects in Southeast Asia and other regions through CIX, enabling more businesses to participate in the voluntary carbon market and achieve their corporate sustainability goals while supporting the conservation, restoration, and protection of natural ecosystems. Meng Wen Neng said, "Singapore is located in the heart of Southeast Asia, a region with great potential for developing nature-based solutions." He also emphasized that Southeast Asia is home to more than one-third of the world's mangroves and has approximately 120 million hectares of land (four times the size of Malaysia) suitable for reforestation. "Due to its geographical proximity to Southeast Asia, CIX and its ecosystem partners can work closely with project personnel to obtain high-quality carbon credits." In the voluntary carbon trading market, price is not the only factor; "co-benefits" are also crucial. In recent years, demand for nature-based carbon credits, such as those purchased and sold from forest conservation and reforestation projects, or wetland and grassland restoration projects, has been increasing. Verra, one of the leading standard-setting organizations in voluntary carbon trading markets, reported that nature-based solutions accounted for 68% of carbon credits issued in the first quarter of 2021, compared to just 38% in 2016. Unlike compliance carbon markets, where companies must purchase credits to offset greenhouse gas emissions if they exceed their quotas, companies participating in voluntary carbon trading markets do so on a voluntary basis. Price isn't the only factor in voluntary carbon trading; other co-benefits, such as local economic development and biodiversity conservation, are also valued. "People are now realizing that nature-based solutions encompass biodiversity, livelihoods, and climate outcomes, and that they support agendas like the Sustainable Development Goals," said Alain Frechette, Director of Strategic Analysis and Global Engagement at the NGO Rights and Resources Initiative (RRI), in a phone interview. Source: Environmental Information Center (https://e-info.org.tw/node/231675)
