Greenhouse Gas Emission Reporting Propel Southeast Asian Carbon Management Investments to US$240 Million by 2028

Southeast Asia (SEA) has seen rapid economic growth, fueled by its emergence as a new manufacturing hub amid the global "China Plus One" strategy. This industrial expansion in SEA countries places significant pressure on sustainability and net-zero emissions goals, prompting governments to actively regulate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Global technology intelligence firm ABI Research expects spending on carbon management solutions to increase from US$77 million in 2023 to US$240 million in 2028 – a significant regional growth opportunity for carbon management solution providers.

“As the level of industrial activity increases in SEA countries, this places a large burden on each country’s efforts toward sustainability and their net-zero emissions targets,” says Matthias Foo, Senior Analyst at ABI Research. “As a result, SEA governments have been actively looking to regulate Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in their respective markets.”

GHG reporting requirements are quickly evolving in the region, albeit to varying degrees and speeds. For example, Singapore is a front-runner in the region and has mandated climate reporting for Publicly Listed Companies (PLCs) in the financial, agriculture, food and forest products, energy, materials and buildings, and transportation industries. By 2026, all PLCs will be required to disclose Scope 3 GHG emissions (i.e., indirect GHG emissions that occur across an organization’s entire value and supply chain) as well. Other countries, such as Malaysia and Thailand, also want to introduce new reporting requirements under their proposed climate-related bills.

To meet the rising complexity of GHG emission monitoring, coupled with the increasing costs of unabated GHG production, many innovative companies are emerging in the region offering solutions to help enterprises track, monitor, report, and reduce their GHG emissions. These include Zuno Carbon, Unravel Carbon, Pantas Climate Solutions, Evercomm, Terrascope, Numen AI, and UL Solutions.

One key trend observed was the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) capabilities among carbon management solution providers to simplify and enhance carbon accounting, monitoring, reporting, and analysis processes. “A sizable number of carbon management vendors are looking to capitalize on the first mover advantage and craft their niche in the marketplace. Beyond AI capabilities, ensuring that their solutions can be seamlessly integrated with existing systems, are simple to use, and highly flexible are also critical features that Carbon Management Solutions must have,” concludes Jake Saunders, Vice President of Asia Pacific and Research Director at ABI Research.

These findings are from ABI Research’s Sustainability Reporting and ESG Regulations in Southeast Asia application analysis report. This report is part of the company’s Southeast Asia Digital Transformation and Sustainability Software Markets research services, which includes research, data, and ABI Insights.