With ARR and REDD+ methodologies moving onto Singapore’s eligibility list—and tougher safeguards on permanence, additionality, and leakage—the Republic is tightening quality controls even as it broadens its access to nature-based credits.
Singapore will add two Verra methodologies—afforestation/reforestation/revegetation (ARR) and REDD+—to its eligibility list for international carbon crediting, applying additional safeguards after securing its first set of nature-based carbon credits from four projects, officials said.
RELEVANT SUSTAINABLE GOALS
What Was Purchased—and Where
The Government will spend $76.4 million to buy more than two million carbon credits from three projects in Peruand Ghana that use the newly approved methodologies, and a fourth project in Paraguay. Each credit represents one tonne of CO₂ removed (e.g., restoration) or avoided (e.g., forest saved from logging).
Although the methodologies were not initially on Singapore’s list, the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS)said the eligibility list is reviewed regularly to uphold environmental integrity and that these methods can meet criteriawith additional safeguards layered on top of methodology requirements.
Project developers using the added methodologies must meet Singapore’s safeguards to ensure high-quality, real emission reductions:
- Permanence (Reversals): Events such as wildfire or logging that could release stored carbon must be monitored or verified by an independent monitoring system for reporting.
- Additionality: Developers must reassess additionality at every credit issuance if the last assessment was more than five years ago.
- Leakage: For REDD+ projects, developers must verify that claimed reductions occurred and that emissions were not shifted elsewhere; documented leakage is accounted for before credits are transferred to Singapore, to minimise overestimation of conserved forest. Conservation experts have noted that logging farther from project sites may not be captured under standard practice—a gap Singapore’s approach aims to narrow.
Methodologies and Labels: What Applies Where
- ARR (Ghana): Credits generated must carry Verra’s Abacus label, signaling high-integrity ecosystem restoration that maintains or improves agricultural production within and around the project area.
- REDD+ (Peru): Two projects involve protecting forested areas from logging; developers must verify reductions and quantify any leakage beyond immediate project boundaries before transfer.
Three of the four projects Singapore tapped will use the two newly approved Verra protocols, which will be included in implementation agreements with Peru and Ghana. The request for proposal allowed developers to propose non-listed methodologies; NCCS said the list’s regular review keeps it relevant while ensuring environmental integrity standards are upheld.
Singapore’s Carbon Strategy and Country Portfolio
Singapore has carbon trading agreements with nine countries and has estimated it will use high-quality carbon credits to offset about 2.51 million tonnes of emissions a year over this decade. Its 2023 eligibility list already included nature-based pathways—primarily agricultural land management, blue carbon (e.g., mangroves), and grasslands—project types that tend to be smaller-scale with clearer boundaries, reducing leakage risks, a government spokesperson previously said.
With ARR and REDD+ methodologies moving onto Singapore’s eligibility list—and tougher safeguards on permanence, additionality, and leakage—the Republic is tightening quality controls even as it broadens its access to nature-based credits. The result: a larger pipeline of eligible projects, paired with higher integrity standards intended to ensure that credits represent real, durable climate benefits.
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