Singapore will take all scrutiny of carbon markets and projects seriously as it finalises a list of international carbon credits that can be used by companies to reduce carbon tax bills.
The Government is aware of a report by The Guardian on Tuesday, which said most forest offsets approved by one of the world's leading certifiers Verra have no benefit to the climate. The report, published on January 18 following a nine-month investigation, said only a handful of Verra s rainforest projects showed evidence of deforestation reductions.
The report said that forests were allegedly overstated by an average of 400 per cent, leaving the effectiveness of these projects and the value of carbon credits bought by companies to offset their emissions in doubt.
Verra is one of the two carbon offset standard programs the National Environment Agency NEA signed Memorandums of Understanding MOUs in July as part of developing a local framework for acceptable carbon credits.
The Singapore Government is aware of The Guardian's report on rainforest credits issued by Verra and the response and clarification issued by Verra, according to Ms Fu.
We take all scrutiny of carbon markets and projects seriously, and we are committed to ensuring that carbon credits uphold high environmental integrity standards.