Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Kenya’s governments have formed the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets to revive confidence in the voluntary carbon market. This is the first government-led project aimed at creating worldwide standards for carbon credits and encouraging greater corporate participation.
The coalition’s goal is to provide high-integrity, consistent criteria for carbon credit issuance. These standards are intended to increase openness, minimise fragmentation, and restore trust among investors and companies aiming to fulfil climate commitments. The endeavour is primarily focused on decarbonisation in emerging markets, where voluntary carbon markets can provide essential funding.
The Coalition’s secretariat will be the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI). France and Panama have joined as founding members, and Peru has voiced support. The coalition wants more countries to join and support initiatives to reduce greenwashing and improve carbon credit reliability.
Ravi Menon, Singapore’s climate ambassador, remarked that the problem is not with carbon markets themselves, but with their implementation. The coalition will announce its new carbon credit requirements at COP30 in November. These improvements are projected to make cross-border transactions easier and help close the $1.3 trillion global climate finance deficit, potentially increasing the market to $250 billion by 2050.
