Singapore announced various initiatives in December 2023 to accelerate collective climate action in our part of the world and beyond. Here’s a recap of significant developments, company announcements and insightful content that capped off 2023.
Singapore announced various initiatives in December 2023 to accelerate collective climate action in our part of the world and beyond. Here’s a recap of significant developments, company announcements and insightful content that capped off 2023.
Sylvera, a leading carbon data provider and ratings agency, opened a regional office in Singapore with EDB’s support in December 2023. Sylvera will help Singapore identify high-quality carbon credits to purchase from other countries, and to drive rapid climate finance to areas having real climate impact.
On 11 Dec 2023, the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) announced that it is collaborating with Gold Standard and Verra’s Verified Carbon Standard to develop a playbook that other countries can use to achieve and exceed their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement. They aim to complete it by mid-2024.
Singapore-based carbon exchange Climate X (CIX) will be launching a new set of standardised contracts that will field credits that are aligned with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (IC-VCM)’s Core Carbon Principles. These contracts meet the global standard for high integrity carbon credits, which Singapore is keen to develop. The credits are expected to come on stream next year.
The $1 million scenario-modelling facility at NUS’ Kent Ridge campus allows project stakeholders to model different scenarios, identify potential sites in Southeast Asia, and calculate the potential return on investment. Users will have access to satellite images of carbon-rich forested areas across Southeast Asia, and the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) stored in each area. They can also adjust various parameters and perform calculations of the economic potential and co-benefits of a specific carbon project on the spot
SEA’s potential for nature-based solutions is immense, but requires unique research and methodologies to unlock that potential.
The Southeast Asia Climate and Nature-based Solutions (SCeNe) Coalition, made up of NGOs including The Nature Conservancy, WWF-Singapore, Wildlife Conservation Society and Mandai Nature, launched a new tool to help NGOs and other organisations quantify the benefits of forest conservation from carbon projects. The tool maps out land that is covered by the forest and provides historical data on deforestation and carbon stores by the forest. It also forecasts the deforestation risk should the project fail.
On 3 Dec 2023, MAS and Temasek announced that they had signed an MOU with Allied Climate Partners (ACP) and the World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC) to address the financing gap for Asia’s sustainable development needs. They will deploy a blended finance mix of both concessional capital from the philanthropic and public sectors, as well as private capital towards such projects.
• Singapore’s climate action ecosystem for fostering sustainable development
The first of a four-article partnership with UNDP Global Centre for Technology, Innovation and Sustainable Development, this article touches on the foundation of Singapore’s WOG approach to its climate strategy.
• Powering progress in Southeast Asia’s renewables development
A partnered report with McKinsey Singapore, this report provides an overview of the Southeast Asia renewables landscape, including the opportunities, potential and unique challenges, together with key lessons from renewable energy developers who have paved the way.
