Lester Chan, CEO & Chairman, The GrowHub Limited (Nasdaq: TGHL), explains how helping governments and corporates turn potential into real and measurable impacts across Asia and beyond
SINGAPORE, March 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — For years, conversations about Asia’s carbon markets centred on potential—frameworks to be built, agreements to be signed. That chapter is closing. In 2026, we have entered the era of execution.
Asia now accounts for more than half of global emissions. It is home to some of the world’s most important natural carbon sinks—mangrove systems, tropical forests, and highland ecosystems. The question is no longer whether Asia will shape global carbon markets, but how quickly and credibly it can translate this position into real, verifiable outcomes.
The Article 6 Inflection Point
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement is moving from negotiation rooms into implementation.
Governments across the region are now structuring concrete cooperation projects under Article 6. Bhutan and Singapore, for instance, recently launched four initiatives spanning clean cooking, biogas, and integrated mitigation programmes—moving from framework to project pipeline. These are not academic pilots. They are designed as bankable projects with clear emissions reduction pathways and defined routes to credit issuance.
Japan’s Joint Crediting Mechanism, including its partnerships in Southeast Asia, is similarly progressing from early demonstration projects toward the transfer of internationally recognised mitigation outcomes, underpinned by real technologies from refrigerant recovery to sustainable rice cultivation. This is the machinery of carbon markets finally turning in the region, and the pipeline will grow rapidly if host-country authorisation and registries can keep pace.
The Quality Imperative
As project pipelines expand, scrutiny is intensifying.
The voluntary carbon market’s growing pains are well documented. Yet we are now seeing a distinct shift: in 2025, capital committed to new carbon projects tripled year-on-year to exceed USD 10 billion, with retirements beginning to outpace issuances for premium credit types. Buyers are moving decisively toward higher-quality projects—credits that offer durability, transparency, and demonstrable impact. Demand is steadily pivoting from low-cost, generic avoidance credits toward high-integrity reductions and removals.
This places robust Measurement, Reporting, and Verification at the centre of the market. Without trustworthy data—on baselines, additionality, leakage, and permanence—no standard, registry, or trading platform can sustain confidence.
At The GrowHub, we have built our carbon solutions around this reality: using AI to monitor and model project performance, and blockchain to create immutable data trails from field to registry. Across Asia, we already see these capabilities moving from "nice-to-have" to baseline expectations for any project seeking long-term credibility and pricing power.
Regulatory Catalysts
Regulation is now reinforcing these market signals.
Across Southeast Asia, carbon pricing mechanisms are taking shape. Thailand has passed its Draft Climate Change Act and completed its first ITMO transfer with Japan. Vietnam has entered ETS trial phases. Malaysia is preparing carbon tax implementation. Indonesia is developing nature-based credit streams to complement its compliance market.
The message to businesses is clear: carbon is no longer a peripheral ESG topic. It is a core cost, risk, and competitiveness issue.
Looking Ahead
Asia’s carbon markets are entering their most consequential phase. The next few years will determine whether the region can mobilise its natural capital and industrial transition at the scale and integrity required.
For investors, developers, and corporate buyers, this means backing projects that combine strong governance, credible host-country alignment, and technology-enabled MRV. The era of experimentation is ending. The premium now belongs to disciplined execution.
At The GrowHub, our focus is simple: help governments and corporates turn carbon potential into real, measurable impact across Asia and beyond.
