Global Coalition Emerges, Led by Singapore, Kenya, and the UK, with Aim to Reinvigorate Voluntary Carbon Market Participation
A new international coalition, named the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, was launched in June 2025 by Singapore, Kenya, and the United Kingdom. The alliance, which includes founding members France, Panama, and Peru, aims to strengthen the voluntary carbon market (VCM) by issuing a clear set of shared principles ahead of the COP30 summit in November 2025.
The coalition's shared principles are designed to establish a robust, transparent, and interoperable framework for the voluntary use of carbon credits by corporations. The goal is to restore trust, attract investment, and deliver measurable climate and economic benefits, particularly for emerging markets.
**High-Integrity Carbon Credits**
The coalition will establish and promote the use of high-integrity carbon credits, ensuring that credits used for offsetting emissions are credible, verifiable, and meet rigorous environmental standards.
**Interoperability and Transparency**
The shared principles aim to align global markets, ensuring that standards for carbon credits are consistent across jurisdictions, and that market transactions are transparent. This reduces confusion and builds trust among businesses and investors.
**Market Confidence and Investor Certainty**
By offering clear, consistent, and jurisdiction-wide guidance, the coalition seeks to restore investor and stakeholder confidence in the voluntary carbon market, which has been undermined by concerns over credit integrity and regulatory uncertainty.
**Support for Emerging Markets**
A central focus is directing investment into clean energy, nature restoration, and sustainable agriculture in emerging economies, without increasing their debt burdens. This helps unlock up to $250 billion in climate finance by 2050 and supports sustainable development.
**Alignment with Global Frameworks**
The coalition’s approach builds on progress made at COP29 (Article 6) and leverages existing high-integrity supply frameworks such as the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market’s Core Carbon Principles. This ensures that the coalition’s standards are rooted in established international best practices.
**Broad Business Engagement**
The initiative is supported by global business groups like the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, ensuring that the principles are informed by the needs and ambitions of the private sector.
**Reducing Greenwashing and Reputational Risk**
By setting a high bar for credit quality and requiring transparency, the coalition aims to reduce the risk of greenwashing and reputational damage for companies using offsets.
**Regulatory Clarity**
Clear and consistent international principles give businesses the certainty they need to invest in voluntary carbon markets, knowing that the credits they purchase will be recognized and respected globally.
**Driving Private Investment**
With improved confidence in the integrity and reliability of carbon credits, more private capital can flow into climate-positive projects, especially in developing economies.
**Tangible Emissions Reductions**
The focus on high-integrity credits ensures that corporate net-zero strategies deliver real emissions reductions, further strengthening the legitimacy and efficacy of voluntary carbon markets.
As more jurisdictions introduce their own compliance schemes, many expect the compliance markets to converge with the VCM in the coming years. The coalition plans to release a common set of principles for the corporate use of offsets by COP30, which will be held in Brazil later this year. The coalition also plans to expand to include more buyer and supplier countries in the coming months.
The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) will work with the coalition to support alignment with its existing frameworks for the supply side of the market. Many, including the head of the world's largest carbon credit certifier Verra, anticipate that the compliance markets will converge with the VCM in the coming years.
The coalition is chaired by Ali Mohamed, Kenya's special climate envoy, and Rachel Kyte, the UK’s special representative for climate. Singapore has recently published a draft guide for firms intending to use carbon offsets to cut their emissions voluntarily, and the UK also released its draft guidance on the voluntary use of offsets in April.
Sources: [1] Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets. (2025). Press Release. [2] The Guardian. (2025). New Coalition Aims to Boost Voluntary Carbon Market. [3] Reuters. (2025). Singapore, UK, and Kenya Launch Coalition to Boost Voluntary Carbon Market. [4] Bloomberg. (2025). New Coalition Aims to Bolster Investor Confidence in Voluntary Carbon Market.
- The new coalition, Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, aspires to restore trust and attract finance in the voluntary carbon market by establishing a robust, transparent, and interoperable framework for high-integrity carbon credits, particularly for businesses.
- By offering clear guidance and consistent global standards, the coalition aims to reduce the risk of greenwashing, increase investor certainty, and unlock up to $250 billion in climate finance by 2050, especially in emerging markets, to support sustainability initiatives.
- The coalition plans to work with global business groups like the International Chamber of Commerce and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, ensuring that their principles are in line with the private sector's needs and ambitions.
- The coalition plans to expand and release a common set of principles for the corporate use of offsets by COP30 and collaborate with the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market to align with existing international best practices, ensuring tangible emissions reductions and driving private investment in climate-positive projects.
