Welcome back to the first episode of the Carbon Exposure Project season 3! Our guest for this episode is Alvin Lim, former Executive Director and head of Asia Environmental Products at Morgan Stanley. He is also a Senior Fellow at the NUS Business School.

In this episode, the following topics are discussed:

00:00 – Introduction

Rene welcomes Alvin Lim and sets the stage for a deep dive into carbon markets, investing, and impact.

02:06 – Alvin’s Journey into Climate and CarbonFrom

COP15 in 2009 as a student to building a carbon thesis at a sovereign wealth fund.

09:21 – Understanding the Private Carbon Market

What are ecosystem enablers? Exploring infrastructure, data, and services in the carbon value chain.

11:00 – Compliance vs. Project-Based Markets

How these two market types differ and intersect—and how fungibility is starting to emerge.

17:35 – Article 6.2 and 6.4: The Road Ahead

Alvin breaks down international cooperation, policy trends, and cost-saving potential from the 2019 IETA–Maryland study.

20:30 – What Makes a Carbon Project Bankable?

Alvin outlines three key risks investors look for: country/political, merchant/price, and performance risk.

26:00 – Methodological Shifts & Issuance Uncertainty

How changing methodologies (e.g. REDD+ VM0048) affect future credit issuance and investor confidence.

29:49 – De-risking the Market: The Role of Public Capital

Philanthropy, DFIs, and blended finance mechanisms that help crowd in institutional investors.

31:15 – Assessing Project Performance Risk

Why track record, conservative estimates, and insurance matter in evaluating project reliability.

33:00 – Does Vintage Matter? A Carbon Market Myth

A myth-busting segment on vintage bias and the time value of carbon, including a reflection on how trading norms shaped perceptions.

41:07 – The Power of Mentorship and Education

Alvin shares his personal story, teaching roles at NUS and Columbia, and why giving back is essential.

48:46 – Carbon Markets & the Energy Transition

The role carbon finance plays in enabling large-scale transition—especially in Asia.

50:25 – Accelerating Coal Phase-Out in Emerging Markets

Financing and incentives needed to speed up coal retirement.

53:10 – How Do We Actually Accelerate the Transition?

The importance of investment, innovation, and international alignment.

57:16 – Reflections on Progress and What’s Next

A look at where we stand in the global decarbonization journey—and what it will take to reach net zero.