Singapore Opens Public Consultation on Draft Guidance for Voluntary Carbon Credit Use

juin 24, 2025

11:15 am

Key Impact Points:

New national guidance aims to strengthen the credibility of carbon credit use in corporate decarbonisation.
Feedback is open until 20 July 2025 to refine principles aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
Companies must prioritise feasible emissions cuts before turning to carbon credits, with strong disclosure expectations.

Singapore Unveils Draft Guidelines for Voluntary Carbon Market

The Singapore government has released a draft guidance document detailing how companies can credibly use voluntary carbon credits as part of their decarbonisation plans. Jointly issued by the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS), Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), and Enterprise Singapore (EnterpriseSG), the draft is open for public consultation until 20 July 2025.

“This document provides guidance on how companies can voluntarily use carbon credits as part of a credible decarbonisation plan.”

Developed with input from the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) and industry stakeholders, the guidance seeks to bring consistency, credibility, and transparency to the voluntary carbon market (VCM) amid rising concerns over greenwashing and market fragmentation.

Ensuring Integrity in Carbon Credit Use

The guidance lays out key principles for voluntary carbon credit use, emphasizing environmental integrity, transparency, and alignment with global standards.

“Carbon credits should have high environmental integrity,” the guidance states, encouraging firms to exhaust all technically and economically feasible abatement measures before turning to offsets.

Carbon credits must also meet criteria such as being “additional,” “permanent,” “real,” and “not double-counted.” Singapore’s International Carbon Credit (ICC) framework is used as a reference, alongside international meta-standards like the ICVCM’s Core Carbon Principles.

The document clarifies that corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement do not apply to voluntary credit use, since these credits are not counted towards national climate targets.

Building a Credible Decarbonisation Strategy

Companies are advised to first establish a transparent emissions baseline and create a plan that prioritises reductions across all scopes of emissions. The use of carbon credits should be limited to residual emissions that are hard to abate.

“Companies should regularly review their decarbonisation plans,” the draft notes, recommending science-based methodologies and third-party verification tools for assessing credit quality and risk.

To manage portfolio risk, companies may consider tools such as carbon project ratings, impact labels, and insurance. Transparency is also key: firms are expected to disclose credit use volumes, project types, registries, and credit ratings in climate reporting aligned with the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

Part of a Broader Carbon Market Strategy

This draft is a cornerstone of Singapore’s wider push to create a high-integrity, internationally aligned carbon market. Ongoing efforts include:

Allowing carbon tax-liable firms to offset up to 5% of taxable emissions using eligible Article 6-compliant credits.
Supporting early-stage project development via the Carbon Project Development Grant.
Expanding the local carbon trading ecosystem and collaborating with countries through the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework.

“Singapore will be co-leading an initiative to be announced on 24 June 2025 during London Climate Action Week,” according to the draft.

Meanwhile, SSFA is conducting a national survey to inform a future Claims Guidance Code and support demand and supply signals for high-quality carbon credits in the region.