[SINGAPORE] Tech giant Tencent will have the opportunity to offtake at least one million verified, high-quality carbon credits from GenZero’s investment portfolio over a period of 15 years, after inking a partnership with the Temasek-backed investment platform.
This will represent an estimated abatement of at least one million tonnes of greenhouse gases, said both companies in a joint statement on Tuesday (May 6).
The partnership was structured to mobilise capital towards high-integrity climate solutions, enhance market transparency and strengthen trust in global carbon credit systems, it added.
Tencent and GenZero said they will prioritise projects in areas where finance is most needed, while also ensuring that the projects deliver co-benefits such as improved livelihood for the local communities near where the projects are implemented.
The carbon credits generated will be from projects that have been verified by international carbon standards developed by Verra or Gold Standard or the carbon crediting mechanism set out in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement – a global treaty seeking to keep global warming under 1.5 deg C by 2050.
This is to ensure that the carbon credits purchased ensure real, measurable, and verifiable emissions reductions and removals.
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Both companies said that a core focus of this partnership is to enhance transparency and rebuild trust in international carbon markets. Criticisms over the integrity of carbon credits over the last few years have been plaguing the growth of the market.
Tencent and GenZero will try to de-risk carbon projects by conducting pre-feasibility studies, and strengthen market integrity by deploying monitoring, reporting and verification technologies..
Both parties will also continue to explore opportunities to invest in and scale climate solutions by leveraging their respective networks to identify promising investment prospects that could benefit from co-investment, read the release.
Frederick Teo, GenZero’s chief executive officer, said that its partnership with Tencent will encompass all three of its core investment areas, which are nature-based solutions, technology-based solutions and carbon ecosystem enablers.
Xu Hao, vice-president of Tencent’s sustainable social value organisation, said: “Leveraging our digital capabilities and GenZero’s expertise, we aim to enhance carbon market transparency, promote innovative climate technologies, and deploy blended finance models to accelerate global transition to net zero.”
