Singapore has launched an industry-led, multi-sector initiative, the Action for a Resilient Climate (ARC) Coalition, to mobilize demand, financing for carbon credits.
With the support of Bain & Company, Carbon Growth Partners, CATL, Climate Bridge International, Climate Impact X, Enterprise Singapore, GenZero, Mitsubishi Corporation, Osaka Gas, Rubicon Carbon, Tencent, Vale and World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore, the ARC Coalition seeks to aggregate corporate demand for high-integrity carbon credits and channel financing towards the projects that generate them, Enterprise Singapore said in a statement on Tuesday.
By doing so, the coalition seeks to catalyze investment in credible climate solutions, strengthen market confidence, and enable broader corporate participation in global carbon markets.
According to the statement, high-integrity carbon credits, underpinned by robust environmental and social safeguards, have a critical role to play in achieving the long-term temperature goal of the Paris Agreement and in helping companies credibly advance their sustainability commitments.
The continued growth of carbon markets requires coordinated, market-wide action, and stronger alignment across diverse stakeholder groups.
In the immediate term, the ARC Coalition will focus on aggregating much-needed demand from Asia, helping high-quality carbon projects scale while contributing to the development of deeper, more trusted global carbon markets.
The ARC Coalition also aims to bring together corporates, financial institutions, philanthropic organizations, government agencies, and technical experts to improve market integrity, strengthen practices, and give companies greater confidence in purchasing high-integrity carbon credits.
It will also support credible and efficient carbon credit procurement aligned with international principles and best practices for corporate decarbonization.
This will be achieved by aggregating demand; unlocking financing opportunities; establishing rigorous quality and standards; improving access to carbon credits.
According to the statement, the ARC Coalition will convene corporate buyers to drive demand and adoption of high-integrity carbon credits, with a target to procure at least 10 million tons of carbon credits by 2030.
This is intended to catalyze partnerships with project developers to support impactful carbon abatement projects.
Meanwhile, unique among carbon market coalitions, the ARC Coalition will work with like-minded partners and financiers to develop and implement a financing facility for capital
deployment to early-stage, high-quality carbon projects.
The aim is to unlock supply and drive positive climate, biodiversity and nature outcomes at scale.
The ARC Coalition will establish transparent and robust standards to guide carbon credit selection and use, drawing on leading international principles and frameworks, such
as those adopted by the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets and the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market, while retaining flexibility to support high-potential projects at earlier stages of recognition.
It intends to draw on market-leading practices, such as the use of ratings providers, and contribute to standardized principles and guidance that can strengthen confidence, improve market consistency, and support more credible corporate participation in carbon markets.
The ARC Coalition will also make it easier for corporates to navigate carbon markets and streamline their procurement by providing a curated project assessment, selection, contracting, and management process.
The ARC Coalition is also partnering Symbiosis Coalition, a buyers coalition committed to purchasing high-quality nature-based carbon removals.
Both coalitions aim to identify areas of common interest, with a focus on exchanging best practices and promoting robust approaches to carbon credit quality standards, due diligence and contracting practices.
“Industry partnerships are vital to strengthen trust and promote participation in the voluntary carbon market,
“We look forward to working with like-minded partners through the ARC Coalition to unlock demand and supply for high quality carbon credits, and to support corporates in achieving their decarbonization ambitions,” said Cindy Khoo, Managing Director, Enterprise Singapore.