A SINGLE, harmonised set of standards governing carbon markets globally could be what is needed to solve current challenges over the quality and integrity of carbon credits.

But if that vision were to become a reality in the future, South-east Asia’s potential to be a large supplier of carbon credits may be diminished, given that the abatement levers in this region are likely to be heavily skewed towards nature-based solutions, said Anshari Rahman, GenZero’s director of policy and analytics.

That is because the role of carbon markets in that highly climate-centric future would not be as critical, and definitions of what counts as quality climate solutions would be narrower. This leaves out many nature-based projects that inherently have higher level of uncertainties over quantifying carbon and permanence than technology-based solutions such as direct air capture.