GenZero, the climate investment platform founded by Singapore state investor Temasek, said its direct realised climate impact rose 47 per cent in 2025 as it expanded investments spanning forest restoration, low-carbon construction materials and carbon markets.
Direct realised climate impact is GenZero’s measure of the actual emissions reductions or removals already delivered by projects or companies in its portfolio – not projected future reductions.
The company said its portfolio delivered 1.4 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2e) of direct realised climate impact during the year, taking the cumulative total since 2022 to 4.4 MtCO2e on a stake-adjusted basis.
Including indirect impact generated through investments, GenZero reported 8.3 MtCO2e of realised climate impact in 2025. Its portfolio has grown to 26 closed investments across 26 countries.
GenZero was established by Temasek in 2022 with an initial capital commitment of S$5 billion (US$3.9 billion) to invest in nature-based solutions, decarbonisation technologies and businesses that support carbon markets.
The platform forms part of a wider push by Temasek into climate-related investments. The Singapore investor said its portfolio aligned with its “Sustainable Living” theme stood at S$49 billion as of 31 March, including S$42 billion of sustainability-focused investments and S$7 billion of climate-transition investments. It deployed another S$5 billion into such investments during the latest financial year.
GenZero has set a target of reaching 7 million tonnes of annual direct climate impact by March 2028, according to Temasek.
Land under sustainable management across GenZero’s portfolio increased to more than 900,000 hectares last year from about 750,000 hectares at the end of 2024, largely reflecting its nature-based investments.
The proportion of investee companies measuring Scope 1 and Scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions rose by 35 percentage points to 58 per cent, while GenZero said more than 2,100 jobs had been created across its portfolio companies under an expanded impact-measurement framework.
Chief Executive Frederick Teo said climate investors were operating against macroeconomic and policy headwinds but that growing energy demand and pressure to decarbonise industries continued to create opportunities for commercially viable climate technologies.
“Climate action does not require dogmatic adherence to an ideological agenda,” Teo said as cited in a press release “Rather, we need to engage in principled pragmatism.”
Carbon market scrutiny
The expansion comes as investors in carbon projects contend with persistent questions over the credibility and quality of credits used by companies to compensate for their emissions.
Carbon credit supply has in recent years outpaced demand. The World Bank said the global stock of unretired credits reached almost 1 billion tonnes in 2024, while credit prices softened as buyers became more selective.
That shift continued in 2025. MSCI estimated the primary global carbon credit market remained worth about US$1.4 billion, roughly unchanged for a fourth consecutive year, even as retirements increased 3 per cent to match their previous record.
Average prices tracked by MSCI fell to US$3.50 per tonne from US$4.30 in 2024, but prices for credits rated BBB or above rose by more than 20 per cent to US$6.80, illustrating a widening gap between credits perceived as higher and lower quality.
The World Bank said overall carbon credit issuance increased 8 per cent in 2025, with highly rated forest conservation and reforestation projects among those continuing to attract price premiums.
GenZero has put carbon markets alongside technology and nature-based projects at the centre of its investment strategy, including investments in carbon market infrastructure, project developers and monitoring systems.
During the financial year ended March 2026, it made its first investment in Brazil through The Reforestation Fund, which aims to conserve, restore and reforest 270,000 hectares of degraded land across Latin America.
It also backed Terra CO2, marking its first investment in the built-environment sector. The company develops cementitious materials designed to reduce emissions associated with conventional cement production.
Other investments included Seraya Partners Fund I, focused on energy transition and infrastructure in Asia, while a GenZero-backed rice initiative secured an agreement with Amazon covering more than 680,000 tonnes of carbon credits generated through reductions in methane emissions from rice cultivation in India.
GenZero was also part of a US$91 million blended finance package for the Imperative Spekboom Ecosystem Restoration Project, combining a World Bank outcome bond with financing from GenZero and other investors.
The investments come as governments expand the use of carbon pricing even as voluntary markets face scrutiny. Nearly 30 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions are now covered by a direct carbon price across 87 policies, compared with about 28 per cent a year earlier, according to the World Bank. Carbon-pricing systems raised more than US$107 billion for governments in 2025.
Singapore has sought to position itself as a regional centre for carbon trading and climate finance, including through efforts to develop higher-integrity carbon markets and establish common standards for the use and trading of credits.
GenZero said it had joined the steering committee of the Asean Common Carbon Framework, an initiative seeking greater alignment among carbon markets in Southeast Asia, while its Green Fuel Forward programme, aimed at developing demand for sustainable aviation fuel certificates, has grown to 45 participating organisations.
