Singapore has issued its first Letter of Authorisation (LoA) to a safe drinking water project in Rwanda, completing its side of the necessary approvals for the project to generate credits under the two countries’ Article 6 Implementation Agreement, Carbon Pulse reports. For buyers seeking credits authorised under the Paris Agreement’s cooperation mechanism, the move converts a signed bilateral deal into a concrete pipeline of internationally transferred mitigation outcomes, or ITMOs.
What the Letter of Authorisation does
Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, a credit can only move between countries when both sides approve it. The host country authorises the mitigation outcome, and the acquiring country issues its own approval for the transfer and use of the credits. Singapore’s LoA completes its side of that process for the Rwandan project, meaning the credits can now be generated and transferred under the Implementation Agreement between the two governments.
The timing is notable. The announcement lands during COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, where Singapore has been showcasing its carbon market strategy, and it marks the first time the city-state has issued such a letter under this particular bilateral deal.
The project and the authorised volume
The project is the Amazi Meza Rwanda Water Supply Project for Schools, developed by Virridy, which supplies clean drinking water to Rwandan schools through decentralised purification systems. By replacing the need to boil water, often over wood or charcoal fires, the systems avoid greenhouse gas emissions while improving health outcomes for schoolchildren.
On the host-country side, the Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA), acting as Rwanda’s Designated National Authority under the Paris Agreement, authorised the project under Article 6.2 on 28 July 2025, according to Virridy. The authorisation covers over 700,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent in emission reductions over a five-year crediting period, generated under the Gold Standard methodology for emission reductions from safe drinking water supply.
With both authorisations in place, the credits are officially recognised as ITMOs under Article 6, allowing them to be transferred internationally and used toward other countries’ or companies’ climate goals.
Corresponding adjustment and CORSIA eligibility
Two features define the quality of this supply. First, the Rwandan authorisation includes a corresponding adjustment, which ensures the credits are not also counted toward Rwanda’s own national climate targets, preventing double counting. Second, the authorisation makes the credits eligible for use under new regulatory markets such as the CORSIA aviation framework.
“This is one of the first examples globally of a voluntary carbon project receiving Article 6.2 authorization with a corresponding adjustment,” said Evan Thomas, CEO of Virridy, in the company’s announcement. “It shows that real, community-scale infrastructure, like safe water for schoolchildren, can meet the highest standards of environmental integrity under the Paris Agreement.”
Singapore’s Article 6 push at COP31
The LoA fits a broader pattern of activity by Singapore at the Antalya conference. The Singapore Pavilion returned for a fifth year, opening on 10 November 2026, according to the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, and Minister Grace Fu is visiting Türkiye from 13 to 21 November to attend COP31.
At the pavilion launch, Ambassador for Climate Action Ravi Menon underscored the importance of practical partnerships and highlighted Singapore’s efforts to develop high-integrity carbon markets, according to the National Climate Change Secretariat. Singapore and the World Bank also signed a Carbon Markets for Development Activity Plan at COP31, under which the two will work together over the next three years to help developing countries participate more effectively in carbon markets. In June 2026, Singapore signed a Cooperation Agreement with the ICVCM to strengthen collaboration on high-integrity carbon markets.
What buyers and developers should watch
First, issuance and transfer. Authorisation is not issuance: the credits must still be verified, issued under the Gold Standard methodology and recorded with the corresponding adjustment applied. The timing and volume of the first transfers will show how quickly the authorised 700,000 tonnes reach the market.
Second, further LoAs. This is Singapore’s first letter under the Rwanda Implementation Agreement, and the pace of subsequent authorisations will indicate how actively the city-state intends to source ITMOs from this and other bilateral deals.
Third, demand channels. Eligibility for CORSIA gives these credits a compliance outlet alongside voluntary use, and buyers weighing Article 6 units against unadjusted voluntary credits now have a concrete example of what a fully authorised, double-counting-proof supply chain looks like.
