The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is sponsoring the partnership, dubbed the “Selex Smart Electric Vehicle Project”, to develop carbon credits for electric motorcycles to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and contribute to climate change mitigation.

The project will contribute to Vietnam’s efforts to realise its emissions target. At COP 26, Vietnam committed to achieving net zero by 2050. According to the NDC 2022, Vietnam increased its unconditional emission reduction target for 2030 from 9 per cent to 15.8 per cent and its conditional target from 27 per cent to 43.5 per cent. The transport sector needs to reduce about 19.3 million tons of CO2 by 2030 compared to the business-as-usual scenario through various measures including converting to vehicles using green fuel and electricity.

Dao Xuan Lai, head of Climate Change and Environment at UNDP Vietnam, stated that this is the first carbon credit project for electric motorbikes in Vietnam.

Selex Motors was founded in 2018 with the goal of promoting sustainable development through smart EVs. The company focuses on building a comprehensive ecosystem for electric motorbikes, solving the problems of charging times and high costs. Selex Motor provides electric motorbike models mainly for transportation purposes, with partners such as Grab, Gojek, and Lazada, among others.

With UNDP support, the project is in the process of being registered under the Gold Standard mechanism and aims to communicate emissions reduction results in accordance with Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The project is being deployed in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City with about 90,000 vehicles, including the Camel 1, Camel 2, S1, S4, and S5 models, and is expected to reduce about 43,000 tons of CO2 per year from 2024 to 2028. A PoA Carbon representative said that the project completed the preliminary review round of the Gold Standard on June 15 and is expected to be registered in September 2024.

Registering a project under the Gold Standard will validate its GHG emission reductions and its positive economic and social impacts. The revenue generated from carbon credits will enable start-ups like Selex Motors to expand their operations and pursue sustainable development.