APEC Businesses Propose New Climate Bonds, Carbon Credit Network

Asia-Pacific business executives urged emerging economies in the region to issue climate bonds indexed to a basket of currencies, which would reduce the risk from foreign exchange fluctuation in raising funds for clean energy transition. The group of business executives comprising ABAC, which is APEC’s Business Advisory Council, also proposed on Sunday launching a pilot programme to develop a voluntary carbon market (VCM) for the Asia-Pacific region.

“What we’re trying to establish is an interoperable, or mutually tradeable, voluntary carbon credit network within the Asia-Pacific region that can accelerate the region’s transition to a low-carbon society,” Hiroshi Nakaso, head of ABAC’s finance and investment task force, told a news conference on Sunday. Under the programme, like-minded countries will conduct cross-border carbon credit transactions on a trial basis to identify problems and possible solutions, Nakaso said.

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