Reflecting on my week at GenZero's Ecosperity 2025 in Singapore, it is clear that a reset is underway and optimism for new carbon market solutions, methodologies and impact is rising.
After years of turbulence, this week in Singapore has reminded me why carbon markets still matter — and why South Pole's role in shaping them is more relevant than ever. But we know real change only happens when the theory lands — when ideas are tested, funded, and built into the system.
To do this, we need to rebuild trust and momentum, scale new solutions such as Article 6 or transition carbon credits and work across business, policy, finance and others to shape a new market. It's clear that the real market is the one we build now.
Across every panel, summit, and side conversation this week, one message has echoed: we must go faster and we must do it with integrity. Whether we’re discussing removals, renewables, or finance, the voluntary carbon market cannot scale without trust.
That’s why I’m proud that South Pole has joined the UNFCCC Secretariat and other leaders across the carbon ecosystem in co-signing a new call to action outlining five urgent priorities for high-integrity carbon markets. Together, we’re urging governments, project developers, financiers, and buyers to align around a shared agenda: strengthening policy guidance, recognising both reductions and removals, supporting nature and technology-based solutions, driving government-led demand, and improving transparency and claims credibility.
CDR Summit Panel. (From left to right) Peter Bakker, President and CEO of WBCSD; Christoph Gebald, Co-founder and Co-CEO of Climeworks; Yuko Tsutsui, Deputy Chief Executive at NYK Line and Daniel Klier, CEO of South Pole. Moderated by Jessica Cheam, Founder and CEO of Eco-Business.
This alignment is long overdue. As U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said recently, carbon markets can unlock private finance at scale — but only if integrity comes first. This week, that principle moved from theory to consensus. Leaders across Asia, from Singapore’s Senior Minister Teo Chee Hean to Temasek’s Dilhan Pillay, reinforced the same idea: credibility isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s the lever that will enable everything else.
We leave Singapore clearer about what we need to do next. We must professionalise the market. We must reward leadership. And we must move beyond small pilots to scalable systems.
GenZero Climate Summit Panel. (From left to right) Hugh Salway, Senior Director for Market Development & Partnerships, Gold Standard; Daniel Klier, CEO, South Pole; Oi-Yee Choo, CEO, Climate Impact X and Mark Kenber, Executive Director, VCMI. Moderated by Ashely Chan, Investment Director of GenZero.
One of the clearest examples of that system shift was the launch of the Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (CCCI) methodology — the first-ever transition credit standard approved by Verra.
South Pole played a lead technical role in developing the methodology, from the feasibility modelling to the MRV framework and the social safeguards that embed just transition outcomes. This is carbon finance that doesn't just reduce emissions — it funds reskilling, local investment, and long-term energy shifts.
The announcement of the Philippines pilot, in partnership with ACEN and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, marks a major milestone. A 246 MW coal plant will be retired early and replaced with renewable capacity. For every tonne reduced, transition credits will flow — not to pad emissions ledgers, but to make structural change bankable.
At the launch, I said this wasn't just another carbon credit — it's a blueprint for how we retire coal, fund clean energy, and support the people most affected. Verra's CEO, Mandy Rambharos, said it best: this is about “putting people and equity at the centre of climate action."
This is the kind of innovation the market needs. A mechanism grounded in integrity, shaped by science, and ready to scale — both in the voluntary market and, increasingly, in Article 6-compliant channels.
This shift from voluntary to jurisdictional markets was another theme throughout Ecosperity, and nowhere was it clearer than in the Singapore–Rwanda announcement on Article 6 cooperation.
The agreement sets the stage for two countries to trade high-integrity carbon credits, with clear guardrails for social impact and emissions reduction. Rwanda's Environment Minister called it a pathway to “real climate outcomes and sustainable development." Singapore's Minister Grace Fu echoed that sentiment, describing it as a model for how governments and companies can align.
Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment, Ms Grace Fu, and Rwanda’s Minister of Environment, Dr Valentine Uwamariya, after signing the Article 6 cooperation agreement.
I see it as we must help corporate buyers understand what Article 6 means for their strategies (it can be very complex) and advise governments on how to shape high-quality portfolios that go beyond their current NDCs. We have been working to build a strong pipeline of Article 6 projects, but as always, the proof will be in their impact.
The direction of travel in this reset market is clear. We're moving toward hybrid models that combine the ambition of national policy with the innovation of voluntary finance.
Last week, I had dozens of conversations — in panels, over coffee, and in those quiet corridor moments where people speak freely. Late-evening exchanges about what's really going on behind the scenes. The theme keeps coming back: the real market is the one we build now.
This is the market we shape through tough decisions, honest partnerships, and products that deliver outcomes, with clarity, credibility, and courage.
Because if we get this right, we won't just rebuild trust. We'll rebuild the system.
Global financial institutions zero in on net zero - how financial institutions are progressing on net zero targets and what they expect from portfolio companies' climate strategies.
