A carbon credit is only usable against Singapore's carbon tax if it comes from a country Singapore has a signed agreement with, and if the method used to create it appears on the list agreed with that particular country. As at 4 September 2026 Singapore has 12 of these bilateral Implementation Agreements. The eligibility lists differ country by country, so the same crediting method can be acceptable from one partner and not from another.
Under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, a country can transfer a mitigation outcome to another country, but only if it makes a corresponding adjustment - adding the transferred tonne back to its own national total so the reduction is not counted twice. That adjustment requires government-to-government agreement. Hence Implementation Agreements (IAs), which are legally binding bilateral treaties setting out the framework for those transfers. An IA is typically preceded by a Memorandum of Understanding, under which the two countries "work towards a legally binding Implementation Agreement".
As at 4 September 2026, Singapore has 12 Implementation Agreements:
The Lao PDR agreement is Singapore's 12th IA overall and its 4th with an ASEAN member state, alongside Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines.
A currency warning. The National Climate Change Secretariat's International Collaboration page (https://www.nccs.gov.sg/singapores-climate-action/mitigation-efforts/internationalcollaboration/), and the newsroom filter on the carbon markets cooperation site, were both still showing the 11-country position when last checked. The 12-country figure rests on the September 2026 announcement of the Lao PDR agreement. Check both before quoting a number.
Memoranda of Understanding have also been signed with further partners, Cambodia among them.
This is the detail that trips up buyers. The Eligibility List sets out which carbon crediting programmes and which methodologies satisfy both Singapore's criteria and the host country's. In Singapore's own words, "The Eligibility List differs by host countries as it is bilaterally agreed upon between Singapore and the respective host country."
Five country lists have been published: Ghana, Bhutan, Peru, Rwanda and Thailand. They fall into two very different shapes.
Broad lists (Ghana, Bhutan) admit whole programmes with carve-outs. For example, Ghana's list (last updated 29 July 2026) admits:
Bhutan's list (also 29 July 2026) is similar and additionally admits the American Carbon Registry, the Global Carbon Council and Architecture for REDD+ Transactions, each with exclusions.
Narrow lists (Peru, Rwanda) name individual methodologies only. Peru's list (30 July 2026) admits three GS4GG methodologies and four VCS methodologies, and nothing else. Rwanda's list (30 July 2026) is an extensive but still explicitly enumerated set of GS4GG methodologies spanning cookstoves, agriculture, waste, marine fuels and micro-electrification.
The overall list was last updated 3 August 2026; the individual country lists on 29 and 30 July 2026. The five country lists are at:
Even where a methodology appears on a list, applicability may be assessed again at project-application stage, and either government may refuse authorisation - for example where the methodology is not aligned with domestic law at the time of application, or where the crediting programme has suspended the methodology or placed it under formal review.
In other words, list inclusion is necessary but not sufficient.
Singapore has run joint calls for project applications with several partners. Recent closing or opening dates include Peru (6 October 2025), Bhutan (18 November 2025), Rwanda (30 January 2026) and Thailand (31 March 2026). Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis by both governments. Contracted projects must use bilaterally agreed methodologies and secure authorisation under the relevant IA.
The official Project Register exists at https://www.carbonmarkets-cooperation.gov.sg/project-register/ but, as at its last update on 14 August 2026, it is empty - it states that there are no projects registered at the moment. Do not read that as evidence of activity either way; read it as a register that has not yet been populated.
Two strands of government activity sit alongside the corporate 5 per cent allowance:
These are government purchases against Singapore's national target, not part of the corporate offset allowance.
Items the aggregator matched to this obligation.
JOINT NEWS RELEASE BETWEEN NEA AND METI 8 October 2026 – Singapore and Mongolia will open the application process for carbon credit projects under their Implementation Agreement (IA) on carbon credits cooperation from 30 October 2026. The Singapore-Mongolia IA will be the...
8 October 2026
Carbon tax-liable facilities sourcing credits, project developers in partner countries, and traders and brokers serving the Singapore compliance market.
No threshold. Eligibility depends on the host country having a signed Implementation Agreement and on the crediting methodology appearing on that country's Eligibility List.
https://www.carbonmarkets-cooperation.gov.sg/environmental-integrity/overall-eligibility-list/
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