During the World Economic Forum – Champions for Nature event in New York, interactive mapping software that will allow the prospecting, development, and management of nature-based carbon credit projects worldwide were recently introduced.
“This made-in-Singapore dashboard could be a game-changer for nature-based climate solutions globally. Carbon finance has the potential to channel much-needed funding to forest and mangrove conservation to tackle climate change and safeguard precious biodiversity,” says Professor Koh Lian Pin, Director, National University of Singapore (NUS)-Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions (CNCS).
However, many nature-based carbon projects have been hampered by a lack of timely access to reliable data on the costs and benefits of potential projects. Policymakers and investors now have access to the information they require thanks to this platform.
The Carbon Prospecting Dashboard was created in collaboration with the CNCS, a research centre within the Faculty of Science at NUS, and ST Engineering’s satellite data and geospatial analytics business, ST Engineering Geo-Insights.
By assisting policymakers and investors in determining the locations where nature-based projects can be developed as potential sources of high-quality carbon credits, this dashboard, which is a first of its kind, promotes the preservation of carbon-rich, natural ecosystems like tropical forests and mangroves.
Based on user-defined parameters such as project duration, expenses, and carbon pricing, the platform enables users to compute the projected yield of carbon credits and their financial return on investment.
Users of the website can also calculate the additional advantages of projects, such as increased food security, clean water supplies, and biodiversity preservation in important locations. The hunt for high-quality carbon offsets and the price transparency of carbon credits can both be improved with knowledge of these co-benefits.
The Carbon Prospecting Dashboard will aid in closing significant research and development gaps that have impeded the application of nature-based climate solutions on a global scale. These gaps include ambiguities over the locations of the most promising carbon stores, how rising carbon pricing will affect how profitable it will be to maintain nature, and which natural ecosystems will benefit society the most in the future.
Right now, there is a shortage of high-quality carbon credits derived from nature. This dashboard identifies the most potential carbon project sites to give the greatest benefit to the climate, wildlife, and people, shortening the normally time-consuming and expensive process of prospecting for carbon.
As deforestation is a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, preserving the environment through high-quality carbon initiatives can assist to shut off the flow of emissions and reduce the quantity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. This dashboard assists governments, corporations, and civil society in addressing climate change and biodiversity loss in tandem with nature.
Protecting and rebuilding forests, mangroves, and other carbon-rich ecosystems is crucial if every nation is to escape climate change’s most devastating effects. The platform and the science on which it is founded arrive at a crucial time for the world and make nature conservation more accessible, investable, and scalable.
Nature-based carbon solutions could tackle a third of the climate change problem; preserving and managing intact habitats yields more than just carbon; it can help mitigate the extinction disaster. This will make it easier for businesses and states to become carbon neutral and environmentally friendly.
ST Engineering contributes its geospatial analytics expertise and experience in offering insights with added value to diverse industry sectors to this collaborative effort. This cloud-based carbon prospecting tool will position Singapore for future development of a digital Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification platform to enhance nature-based carbon solutions toward decarbonisation.
