A private sector led coalition in Singapore has identified an opportunity to develop an Asian voluntary carbon credit market at large scale. The Sustainability Alliance for Action, set up under the Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Emerging Stronger Taskforce, has proposed developing a market ecosystem for voluntary carbon credits. Such an ecosystem can facilitate price discovery, improve liquidity, and verify the integrity of carbon credits. The Sustainability Alliance has proposed focusing on carbon credits generated through nature-based solutions. Nature-based solutions are measures taken to protect, sustainably manage, and restore ecosystems …. … measures such as re-forestation and restoring peatlands and mangroves, to sequester carbon and improve biodiversity. Nature-based solutions are an attractive proposition. They can contribute significantly to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Studies show they can potentially provide more than 30% of the carbon mitigation needed globally between now and 2030. Nature-based solutions also contribute to positive social outcomes such as biodiversity, job creation, and improved public health. There is potential in Southeast Asia to generate a large volume of good quality carbon credits through nature-based solutions. According to a study by the National University of Singapore, Southeast Asia has about 120 million hectares of land suitable for re-forestation. The Sustainability Alliance has also prototyped technology solutions to address problem statements in the voluntary carbon credit market. Some examples: Testing the use of artificial intelligence to extract key data from lengthy project documents into more accessible and comparable formats.

Prasarn Trairatvorakul: Managing emerging market challenges – Thailand’s and Asian perspectives Remarks by Dr Prasarn Trairatvorakul, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, at the reception of the 2011 Emerging Markets Central Bank Governor of the Year Award for Asia, Emerging Markets, Washington DC, 24 September 2011. *  *  *  Distinguished Ministers and Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is my great honor to receive this prestigious award, and I would like to thank the Emerging Markets for your kind recognition. In fact, such recognition is unexpected as I simply fulfill my obligations as central bank governor. To be awarded for doing your job, I guess the job must be quite difficult or challenging. More importantly, I consider this award a recognition of the dedication of the staff of the Bank of Thailand, who have worked hard to ensure Thailand’s sustainable economic and financial stability over the years. As the Bank of Thailand enters its seventieth anniversary next year, our institution is faced with a great challenge to maintain price stability while sustaining growth in the midst of heightened global economic and financial risks. We have no luxury of taking a wait-and-see approach but to continue our best efforts to better manage the external spillovers on our economy and financial system. With continued volatile global capital movements, central banks in emerging markets need to ensure that our financial institutions and markets remain robust; that they can safely and efficiently manage foreign capital inflows as well as outflows, without disrupting the real economy.