Asian bourses join billion-dollar race to launch new carbon exchanges

Trading and prices have slumped, while concerns mount about how much offsets actually contribute to fighting climate change

The drive to launch new carbon exchanges in Asia has reached new heights with Malaysia entering the fray, raising questions about how many will survive in a market that could be worth hundreds of billions in a few decades.

Bursa Malaysia Bhd. opened an exchange this month, joining more than a dozen that are under way or planned across the region. Thailand and Japan debuted their platforms in September, followed by Hong Kong a month later. Singapore has two fledgling bourses.

“We’re in another one of those mad dashes,” Thomas McMahon, co-founder of Singapore’s AirCarbon Pte, said in an interview.