The Singapore government-backed carbon credits metadata platform Climate Action Data Trust (CAD Trust) has announced a new strategic roadmap and management changes as it aims to transition to a permanent governance model in 2025.
Launched in December 2022 in partnership with the World Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), CAD Trust is a “decentralised metadata platform” that links, aggregates and harmonises all major carbon registry data.
According to a Sept 5 announcement, the new strategic roadmap will strengthen CAD Trust’s value proposition as the leading public data infrastructure for Paris Agreement-aligned carbon markets.
As part of the transition, CAD Trust executive director Yuvaraj Dinesh Babu Nithyanandam will be replaced by interim CEO Federico Di Credico. Based in Singapore, Di Credico is concurrently the chief sustainability officer (CSO) of environmental solutions firm ACT Group and vice-chair of IETA. He has been a board director of CAD Trust since March 2023.
In addition, Ieva Steponaviciute will assume a new role as director for strategy and outreach. Steponaviciute has been based in Germany since September 2023. She has been with CAD Trust since September 2021, based in London, and she was formerly a research analyst at IETA and account manager at Amazon Advertising.
The World Bank Climate Warehouse team will continue to engage CAD Trust directly, and will support Di Credico and the CAD Trust Secretariat during this transitional phase. The Singapore government will continue to support CAD Trust in partnership building as well as other supportive activities, according to the announcement.
CAD Trust has so far onboarded seven carbon credit registries, including Verra, Global Carbon Council, EcoRegistry, BioCarbon Registry, Tero Carbon and data from the Clean Development Mechanism. This covers 85% of the globally issued carbon credits.
Looking ahead, CAD Trust says it has established a “strong pipeline” of key independent and national registries for onboarding this year and beyond. It integrated the Kingdom of Bhutan as its first national registry in December 2023.
That same month, CAD Trust launched a free “data dashboard”, which has received over 1.3 million views since.
See also: A US$12 bil climate fund is readying a rare bond issuance
The Singapore government has helped fund CAD Trust from the start and continues to provide support. Speaking to The Straits Times earlier this year, Dinesh said CAD Trust had received a grant from Google.org, the charitable arm of Google, to help fund early development of the platform. CAD Trust is looking for similar support from other foundations and governments.
In a statement, Dinesh says: “I am extremely pleased with the remarkable progress and achievements CAD Trust has made in less than two years. The team and governance structure has been pivotal in establishing CAD Trust as a significant player driving transparency in global carbon markets… CAD Trust's ability to successfully leverage digital technology to enhance trust, transparency, and environmental integrity in the carbon markets is entirely unique. I look forward to continuing my engagement with CAD Trust and supporting it in the future, and I wish Federico and the CAD Trust team the best of luck in their future endeavours.”
Di Credico says: “The impressive achievements to date, coupled with a dynamic work plan filled with trailblazing milestones, all while operating with a lean team, highlights Dinesh’s adept navigation and leadership during the exciting interim growth stage of CAD Trust, and the entire CAD Trust Board sincerely appreciates his contribution… I will continue to foster these relationships to enhance CAD Trust’s operational effectiveness and success, and ensure that CAD Trust is committed to maintaining transparency, accountability, and strategic alignment with its vision and mission as it navigates this transition.”
Other carbon market initiatives
In July, the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and IETA launched the Singapore Carbon Market Alliance (SCMA), the first platform in Singapore aimed at helping companies obtain access to high-quality, Article 6-aligned carbon credits.
SCMA is a by-invitation-only alliance that will connect developers and suppliers of carbon credits with Singapore-based corporates that are keen to purchase such carbon credits.
SCMA’s more than 50 member companies include chemicals company Evonik Methionine SEA, tech giant Google Asia Pacific and non-profit The Nature Conservancy. Members also include Singaporean firms Sembcorp Industries U96 , Changi Airport Group and GenZero, Temasek’s decarbonisation-focused investment subsidiary.
To stay ahead of Singapore and the region’s corporate and economic trends, click here for Latest Section
SCMA will hold workshops and networking sessions for its members to better understand the carbon credit ecosystem. It will also facilitate exchanges between the industry and the Singapore government on national requirements and initiatives, say EDB and IETA, formerly known as the International Emissions Trading Association.
In April, EDB supported the launch of the Asia Centre of Carbon Excellence (ACCE) in Singapore by Swiss carbon finance consultancy South Pole and GenZero. GenZero is a minority shareholder in South Pole.
In December 2021, DBS Bank, Singapore Exchange S68 (SGX), Standard Chartered and Temasek joined hands to launch Climate Impact X (CIX). CIX launched its voluntary carbon exchange in June 2023.
Read more about CAD Trust:
