Asean Common Carbon Framework renewed at COP31, regional endorsement sought

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The pact aims to let carbon credits trade across Southeast Asian borders – as an industry-led framework, it now looks to Asean governments to build on its work.

The five industry groups behind the Asean Common Carbon Framework (ACCF) renewed their pact for two more years at the COP31 climate talks on Friday. Their announcement made no mention of the pilot projects they had planned to launch at COP30 last November, a year into the framework’s first two-year term.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (Asean) carbon markets remain fragmented along national lines, according to an April report by RHB Investment Bank, which limits the pool of buyers a project developer in any one country can reach. The framework seeks to align those markets so that credits issued in one country can be sold in another. It was signed by carbon market associations rather than governments, so it binds no Asean member state unless their governments take up its work.

The signatories are the Asean Alliance on Carbon Markets, the Indonesia Carbon Trade Association, the Malaysia Carbon Market Association (MCMA), the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) and the Thailand Carbon Markets Club.

Aboitiz Foundation, the corporate foundation of the Philippine conglomerate Aboitiz Group, joined as an observer. It is the framework’s first participant from the Philippines, which chairs Asean this year.

SSFA took over as chair from MCMA in the second half of 2026. Its strategy to 2028 also commits the groups to widening their membership, bringing the region’s carbon markets closer to global standards and feeding Asean views into international initiatives.

The groups plan to seek clarity on how the law treats a verified carbon credit, and to look for ways to lower barriers to trading credits across borders. They are also drawing up guidance for companies on using carbon credits, and a due diligence framework for lenders financing carbon projects.

All five signatories now support the Shared Principles of the Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets, a government-led group co-chaired by Kenya, Singapore and the United Kingdom.

“As chair, SSFA will work closely with…

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