Tokenized Carbon Credits Exchange for Airlines Launches in Singapore

Published at: Oct. 30, 2019

Carbon exchange AirCarbon launched a global tokenized carbon credits trading platform in Singapore.

Business news outlet Business Times reported on Oct. 30 that the platform will allow firms such as airlines to buy and sell tokens representing carbon offset credits or Eligible Emission Units (EEUs), approved by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The first token representing an EEU has been created today by Senior Minister of State at the Ministry of Trade and Industry Koh Poh Koon upon the platform’s launch at the Asia Clean Energy Summit 2019. The front end of the platform has been designed by United Kingdom-based financial firm First Derivatives.

Exchange to fully launch in 2020

AirCarbon has not yet received the recognized market operator license that it applied for with the Monetary Authority of Singapore. The firm aims to fully launch the exchange next year. The website of the firm describes its service in the following way:

“A Singapore regulated digital exchange focused on servicing transportation industry stakeholders' carbon liability under ICAO’s CORSIA regime.”

The credits are represented by fungible security tokens on a blockchain and each is equivalent to one tonne of CORSIA-compliant carbon credits. The firm also aims to fund the registration, consulting, issuance and audit fees of some EEUs for free with its AirCarbon Registration Facility initiative.

A joint initiative

In exchange for the grants, the developers of the financed carbon offset projects must commit to list and transact their credits on the upcoming tokenized credits trading platform. 

The exchange is reportedly the result of a collaboration with the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) that sees support by local statutory board Enterprise Singapore. SEAS chairman, as well as AirCarbon’s chairman and co-founder, Edwin Khew commented:

“We aim to make the AirCarbon token the easiest and most streamlined instrument for the trading of CORSIA EEUs globally.”

Khew also claimed that the platform will be the first global blockchain-based, multi-stakeholder carbon credits trading exchange that will represent carbon trades with a value of over $100 billion. 

The assistant chief executive officer of the statutory board under the Ministry of Trade and Industry Enterprise Singapore Satvinder Singh noted that he expects the demand for EEUs to grow, given the increasing focus on sustainability. He also said:

“Enterprise Singapore stands ready to support solutions providers like AirCarbon to grow in Singapore and address the needs of corporates to offset their carbon emissions, starting from the aviation industry.”

As Cointelegraph reported at the beginning of September, Germany's Free Democratic Party wants to pay cryptocurrency to anyone who removes carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

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