{"id":4119,"date":"2019-01-28T03:08:24","date_gmt":"2019-01-28T03:08:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/icleiseas.org\/?p=4119"},"modified":"2019-01-28T03:08:24","modified_gmt":"2019-01-28T03:08:24","slug":"can-asia-unlock-the-capital-needed-to-tackle-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/2019\/01\/28\/can-asia-unlock-the-capital-needed-to-tackle-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"Can Asia unlock the capital needed to tackle climate change?"},"content":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared on Eco-Business.\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Can Asia unleash the capital needed to avoid dangerous climate change?<\/p>\n

That was the main topic of discussion at the\u00a0Unlocking Capital for Sustainability\u00a0<\/em>event in Singapore on Tuesday, which was held four months after a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change\u00a0warned that the world has about a decade to dramatically reduce carbon emissions<\/span><\/a>\u00a0or face the most dire consequences of global warming.<\/p>\n

According to a report by DBS Bank and UN Environment on Green Finance Opportunities in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), an estimated US$200 billion of green investment is needed annually from 2016 to 2030 in this region alone to tackle climate change.<\/p>\n

\u201cClimate change is no longer a distant threat on the horizon, but one that is near and present,\u201d said Masagos Zulkifli, Singapore\u2019s Minister for the Environment and Water Resources, in the opening address at the event organised by Eco-Business and UN Environment. \u201cIt is a long-term issue that will require the commitment of governments, investors, businesses and consumers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Referring to how the Earth has already warmed by one degree Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and is likely to reach 1.5 degrees Celsius between 2030 and 2052 if further action is not taken today, Masagos warned that Singapore is feeling the effects too.<\/p>\n

According to a new report from the Meteorological Service Singapore (MSS), 2018 was the joint eighth warmest year on record, despite an extended cool spell in January.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore worryingly, the last decade from 2009 to 2018 was Singapore\u2019s warmest decade, a sign of a long term warming trend,\u201d Masagos said.<\/p>\n

The event, which convened over 130 finance leaders, investors and entrepreneurs at the St Regis Hotel, was held in the run up to the third session of UN Environment\u2019s Forum of Ministers and Environment Authorities of Asia Pacific, which is taking place until 25 January in Singapore.<\/p>\n

Singapore must set Asean\u2019s green financing standard<\/strong><\/p>\n

As a conduit for financial flows into Asia, the lending and investment decisions taken by financial institutions based in Singapore will have a major impact on the region\u2019s contribution to a 1.5-degree world and its climate resilience.<\/p>\n

More investors in Singapore are waking up to sustainable finance challenge. A Standard Chartered Private Bank survey found that 64 per cent of Singapore investors were highly motivated to do good while earning a profit.<\/p>\n

Masagos praised green investing and encouraged financial institutions to continue contributing to the design and development of new environmental, social and governance (ESG)-related products that the global economy will need to achieve sustainable development.<\/p>\n

He also talked about the role platforms play in managing sustainability, through the launch of WWF\u2019s\u00a0Asia Sustainable Finance Initiative<\/span><\/a>\u00a0(ASFI) earlier this month. ASFI is a multi-stakeholder platform, bringing together academia, industry and science-based resources to facilitate cross-sectoral sharing to develop, promote and coordinate sustainable finance initiatives in the region. Such platforms not only allow businesses to grow and broaden their revenue stream but accelerate Singapore\u2019s transition to a low-carbon economy.<\/p>\n

The quiet revolution is getting louder<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jessica Cheam, managing editor of Eco-Business noted in her welcome address that the finance industry had undergone significant change since the financial crisis a decade ago. \u201cToday I\u2019d like to think we are seeing a radically different finance industry demonstrating a clear commitment to the role finance plays to a clean and clear future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Echoing Cheam\u2019s sentiments, Steven Stone, chief of resources and markets branch of the UN Environment, said: \u201cIf we leave some people behind, we are not achieving sustainability.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stone said that green finance has a big opportunity for growth. \u201cGreen bonds amounted to over US$100 billion in 2018, but are still a very small part of the financial market,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s possible now to radically change our economies and harness opportunities that are out there in the circular economy,\u201d said Stone. \u201cComplex issues require complex solutions with more than one party. It depends on you and all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n

Future-proofing finance<\/strong><\/p>\n

Esther An, chief sustainability officer of real estate giant City Developments Limited, shared in a fireside discussion how sustainability reporting can grow sustainable finance, and talked about the importance of strategy in improving business and lowering carbon footprints.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvestors want to invest in companies that can future proof to challenges,\u201d An said. \u201cThe future is about survival and whether you can sustain long-term goals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fang Eu-Lin, partner at PwC Singapore, who moderated the discussion, added the importance of climate change scenario analysis in preparing businesses the impact of climate change.<\/p>\n

Organisations need to adopt robust sustainability reporting to support green financing vehicles such as green loans and ESG green loans, she said.<\/p>\n

Eu-Lin warned that organisations that lack this type of reporting muscle will run into difficulties. \u201cI urge organisations to start earlier, and have a better understanding of how sustainability can open up growth and investment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Finance as the engine for change<\/strong><\/p>\n

Neo Gim Huay, managing director of Enterprise Development Group at investment firm Temasek Holdings, was cautiously optimistic about the future of green finance. In the opening plenary session, she noted that allocations in green finance had accelerated seven-to-ten-fold over the last five years.<\/p>\n

Neo suggested financiers invest in start-ups that position themselves to solve the challenges that cater to demand, referring to Temasek Holdings\u2019 recent investment in Impossible Foods, a California-based plant-based meat alternative company.<\/p>\n

Surya Bagchi, global head of project and export finance at Standard Chartered, said he believed that the key to combatting climate change is collaboration. \u201cIf we collaborate effectively we can rise to the challenge,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Among the highlights of the event was an address from Barney Swan, one of the youngest people to traverse Antarctica. In a 100 per cent renewable energy-powered expedition, the 23 year-old walked 1,000 kilometres over 65 days to the South Pole in December 2017, using NASA designed solar ice-melters, lithium batteries powered by biofuels.<\/p>\n

According to Swan, as a species we omit 360 to 400 million tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every day. Swan\u2019s ClimateForce challenge is a seven-year mission to reduce 360 million tonnes of CO2 by 2025.<\/p>\n

Swan warned of the need to make more risks for the sake of our species\u2019 extinction. \u201cWe all have to step up our game. We have choice, we have freedom. We are all part of the problem, but we are all part of the solution.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This article first appeared on Eco-Business.\u00a0 Can Asia unleash the capital needed to avoid dangerous climate change? That was the main topic of discussion at the\u00a0Unlocking Capital for Sustainability\u00a0event in Singapore on Tuesday, which was held four months after a report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change\u00a0warned that the world has about a decade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[52,51],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4119","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured-news","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4119","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4119"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4119\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4124,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4119\/revisions\/4124"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4125"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4119"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4119"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/icleiseas.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4119"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}