SINGAPORE | April 17, 2024: South Pole and GenZero have launched the Asia Centre of Carbon Excellence (ACCE), a new hub of international experts focused on innovative and novel carbon project development, carbon policy and capacity-building. Supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), this state-of-the-art technical and carbon financing hub, hosted out of Singapore, will provide the expertise needed to overcome complex challenges and catalyse new opportunities for climate action across Asia.
Asia is ripe for novel project development and Singapore has a big role to play in the international trade of high-quality carbon credits under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement that will help countries and businesses meet their climate goals. The core focus of ACCE is to unlock cutting-edge approaches to meet the emission reduction targets of the Paris Agreement as quickly as possible. ACCE will also help Singapore nurture the professional skills to fully unlock Asia's potential for new decarbonisation pathways.
In collaboration with regional corporations and governments, the ACCE team will explore opportunities for carbon project development and market realisation within value chains, both in Asia and globally. Helping both the public and private sector achieve global net zero strategies and goals in a cost-effective manner, the ACCE team aims to further accelerate action towards a green, sustainable future.
The Centre will act as a hub of activity for Singapore and focus on high-impact first-of-a-kind projects that are distinctly valuable to the region. Projects include the early decommissioning of coal-fired power plants, fostering the development of green shipping, green hydrogen, and green ammonia, encouraging the adoption of carbon capture and storage technologies, and supporting the implementation of carbon pricing instruments such as the EU carbon border adjustment mechanisms.
John Davis, Interim CEO of South Pole, said: "Singapore has a strong reputation for playing a role in advancing climate action beyond its borders, making it an ideal place to host our new Asia Centre of Carbon Excellence. Public-private sector collaboration is the only way we will meet our climate goals under Paris and ACCE exemplifies the best of this model. Technical know-how and brave innovation will define how our team works to boost Asia's leadership in international carbon trading and mitigation."
South Pole is already designing and applying cutting-edge carbon finance solutions across Asia, including the Coal to Clean Credit initiative (CCCI) with the Rockefeller Foundation. The CCCI seeks to unlock carbon finance to accelerate the early retirement of coal-fired power plants and replace them with renewable energy, including a project in the Philippines. ACCE aims to multiply these kinds of pioneering efforts in Asia.
Frederick Teo, CEO of GenZero, said: “Carbon markets will play an important role in Asia's green transition. We need capabilities to develop new carbon credit methodologies and innovative approaches to accelerate decarbonisation, especially those with greater relevance in Asia. We are delighted to partner with a leading carbon project expert like South Pole to establish the Asia Centre of Carbon Excellence that will anchor such capabilities in Singapore. The expertise built up here will catalyse new carbon finance solutions and advance the region's push towards net zero."
“Singapore is building a vibrant carbon services ecosystem here to contribute to global climate action and accelerate the low carbon transition. As a region that accounts for the lion's share of global emissions, Asia-Pacific has significant untapped potential to pioneer innovative decarbonisation pathways. We welcome ACCE's newly established presence in Singapore to develop novel carbon project methodologies, and look forward to its contributions in enabling high-impact decarbonisation projects such as early coal plant decommissioning and green hydrogen in the region," said Lim Wey-Len, Executive Vice President and Member of EXCO, EDB.
ACCE will build on South Pole's existing services, while specifically dedicating expertise to the following areas:
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South Pole is the world's leading carbon project expert and climate consultancy.
Since 2006, South Pole has been a trusted partner and advisor to governments, public sector organisations, and leading businesses on their decarbonisation journeys. South Pole serves over 1,000 clients across the world, and its global team of experts has helped many Fortune 500 businesses implement comprehensive strategies that help build resilience and turn climate action into long-term business opportunities.
In line with its mission to deliver climate impact at scale, South Pole has used the power of markets to help channel climate finance to over 850 projects in more than 50 countries across the globe. To date, these projects have helped reduce over 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions, accelerated low-carbon transformations across several sectors, and provided measurable benefits to communities vulnerable to climate change.
The business is supported by world-class investors, including Temasek's GenZero, Lightrock, Corisol, and Salesforce Ventures.
South Pole is a social enterprise recognised by the World Economic Forum's Schwab Foundation, and committed to becoming a B Corp globally across all of its local entities.
For more information, visit www.southpole.com or LinkedIn, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.
GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, it seeks to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions.
Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, GenZero recognises the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. It adopts a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore our natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers which refer to companies and solutions that support the development of an effective, efficient, and credible carbon ecosystem.
For more information on GenZero, visit www.genzero.co.
