EDB partners aquaculture venture firm and WWF to launch blue carbon accelerator programme
Known as Blue Catalyst, the initiative will support startups working on scalable technologies that aim to plug the technological and financing gap in blue carbon projects
[NEW YORK] Singapore’s Economic Development Board (EDB) is partnering aquaculture-focused venture capital firm Hatch Blue and environmental non-profit group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Singapore to launch an accelerator programme to scale blue carbon solutions.
Known as Blue Catalyst, the accelerator programme will support startups working on scalable technologies that aim to plug the technological and financing gap in blue carbon projects.
These refer to projects that have the potential to generate blue carbon credits, from the conservation and restoration of coastal and marine ecosystems – such as mangroves and seagrasses – given their ability to capture carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store them in soils and vegetation.
The programme focuses on technologies that could improve the technical implementation of such projects, as well as the measurement and verification of carbon reductions achieved from the conservation or restoration of coastal ecosystems.
Some examples include:
- Accurate geospatial mapping to track ecosystem changes
- Carbon stock and flux modelling
- Community engagement and biodiversity monitoring
- Restoration technologies such as smart nurseries
Singapore sees opportunities in blue carbon projects, considering that the city-state is located in a region which holds between 20 and 25 per cent of the world’s blue carbon, said Lim Wey-Len, executive vice-president of EDB.
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However, project developers currently face high cost in measuring, reporting and verifying (MRV) blue carbon projects.
“That’s why we are partnering with Hatch Blue and WWF to develop solutions to try to address these issues that we see in the market, in order to help to scale credits and enable it to be something that we can tap on, especially from a credits perspective,” said Lim, who was speaking to media during the programme’s launch on Wednesday (Sep 25) during New York Climate Week.
According to Hatch Blue, only 0.2 per cent of total credits issued in the voluntary carbon market are from blue carbon projects.
The one-year programme is seeking between eight and 10 early stage startups, out of which a few will be selected to present their solutions at Temasek’s flagship sustainability conference Ecosperity next year.
Hatch Blue, which has launched other blue carbon accelerator programmes previously, will connect the entrepreneurs with conservationists, technical experts and investors, and provide them the business know-how, including making financial projects, as well as developing sustainable business models.
As part of the accelerator programme, these solutions will be tested at WWF’s blue carbon sites across 30 countries in the Asia-Pacific.
Vivek Kumar, chief executive officer of WWF Singapore, said: “The partnership becomes very powerful, because it is really access to on-ground activation and making sure that the technology is making a difference. And that will be part of how we select the ones that really work.”
Wayne Murphy, co-founder of Hatch Blue, who was also in New York for the launch, said: “We create the opportunity and bring around the right kind of supports to help scale these companies, and that will include engagement within the investment community. WWF will help give these (founders) a chance to validate their technology – that’s a critical part of this – and then get them to a stage where they become investor-ready.”
Murphy added that having access to sites where entrepreneurs can test their technologies is a game changer, as “they need to validate their technology to prove that it works, in order to raise money for investors to get interested”.
Besides trying to solve for technological gaps, Kumar said that the programme aims to address the lack of methodologies and standards in blue carbon projects, as well as build trust in the ecosystem.
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