Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference

Finance is a critical enabler to accelerate the world’s transition to a net-zero future. By some estimates, getting the world to net zero by 2050 will require over US$9 trillion of investment a year, but today, that number stands at just US$5.7 trillion. We will need unprecedented amounts of capital – both public and private, innovative financing solutions and radical collaboration across the ecosystem.

Asia is where the action needs to happen, at scale – and at speed. Asia accounts for half of global carbon emissions, with about 85% of energy produced from fossil fuels. At the same time, Asia is also highly vulnerable to the impact of climate change. 

Jointly organised by BlackRock, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Temasek, the Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference will convene key decision-makers across financial institutions and the real economy to catalyse financing to grow the green economy, and green the entire economy. Discussions at the FAST Conference 2023 will focus on the opportunities in climate financing particularly in emerging markets and developing economies, building net-zero portfolios, developing a trusted global carbon market, phasing out Asia’s coal-fired power plants and leveraging philanthropic capital.

The Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference will be held on 8 June 2023, as part of Ecosperity Week 2023.


Programme

7 JUN 2023

Marina Bay Sands

Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 5

Plenaries

Timings indicated are Singapore time (GMT+8)
07:30 – 08:30
Registration
60 mins
08:30 – 08:45
FAST Conference 2023 Keynote Address
15 mins
Speaker
Speaker
Tharman Shanmugaratnam speaker frame
Tharman Shanmugaratnam

President, Republic of Singapore

08:45 – 08:55
FAST Conference 2023 Opening Address 
10 mins
Speaker
Speaker
Philipp Hildebrand speaker frame
Philipp Hildebrand

Vice Chairman, BlackRock

08:55 – 09:35
Scaling Climate Financing: Breakthrough Solutions and Pathways
40 mins

As countries increasingly align their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) with the target of net-zero emissions, there is a corresponding increase in the emphasis on transition finance to fund sustainable solutions that drive climate mitigation. However, the public sector faces significant financial challenges such as rising debt across high-impact sectors amongst EMDCs. In the meantime, the clock continues to tick - annual global investments in sustainable solutions will need to rise to US$4 trillion by 2030 in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C.

How can private climate financing play a pivotal role as emerging markets and developing economies seek to curb greenhouse gas emissions and contain climate change all while coping with its effects? What are some breakthrough solutions that the public and private sectors can jointly undertake to scale climate investments to unlock mutually beneficial outcomes, while achieving transformative alignment?

This panel session is curated in collaboration with Finance for Net Zero (FiNZ).

Speakers and Moderator
Speakers
Isabel Chatterton speaker frame
Isabel Chatterton

Regional Head of Industry, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Asia and Pacific, International Finance Corporation (IFC)

Prof Avinash Persaud speaker frame
Prof Avinash Persaud

Special Envoy on Climate Finance to Prime Minister Mottley of Barbados, Emeritus Professor, Gresham College

Rohit Sipahimalani speaker frame
Rohit Sipahimalani

Chief Investment Officer, Temasek

Moderator
Vishal Agarwal speaker frame
Vishal Agarwal

Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company

09:35 – 10:15
Building Net-Zero Portfolios: Leveraging Both Public and Private Markets
40 mins

Infrastructure sits at the heart of the transition to a low-carbon economy and the urgent near-term need for energy resilience and private markets have a key role to play in the transition. Similarly, we see private markets allocations within portfolios ramping up.

Yet the size of the public markets cannot be ignored at over USD 200 trillion globally, with a number of the world’s largest and heaviest emitting companies receiving financing within public equity markets. Similarly, most investors still have and will likely continue to have bulk of their portfolios invested in public markets.

How can investors think about the existing investment opportunity set across public and private markets while balancing their portfolio risk-return objectives, as they look to transition their portfolios to be net zero by 2050?

Speakers and Moderator
Speakers
Kyung-Ah Park speaker frame
Kyung-Ah Park

Head, ESG Investment Management & Managing Director, Sustainability, Temasek

Kim Rosenkilde speaker frame
Kim Rosenkilde

Chief Investment Officer, Singlife

Michael Syn speaker frame
Michael Syn

Head of Equities, Singapore Exchange

Moderator
Michael Dennis speaker frame
Michael Dennis

Managing Director & Head of Alternatives Strategy & Capital Markets, Asia Pacific, BlackRock

10:15 – 10:55
Building A High-quality and Trusted Global Carbon Market: The Road Ahead
40 mins

The rapid growth of voluntary carbon markets (VCMs) over the past 5 years slowed considerably in 2022, hampered by the uncertainty over shifting policies, persistent concerns about the veracity of a number of carbon credits projects, as well as growing public scrutiny and greenwashing accusations. 

With VCMs now at an inflection point in 2023 due to ongoing global trust debate, what lies ahead for corporates and how should they continue to tap on carbon credits as part of their decarbonisation strategy? How can science and data be used to debunk myths while substantiating facts, and what are some measures relevant players can take to regain confidence and reduce uncertainty in carbon markets? 

Speakers and Moderator
Speakers
Angela Churie Kallhauge speaker frame
Angela Churie Kallhauge

Executive Vice President for Impact, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)

Dirk Forrister speaker frame
Dirk Forrister

President & CEO, International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)

Dr Allister Furey speaker frame
Dr Allister Furey

Co-founder & CEO, Sylvera

Mikkel Larsen speaker frame
Mikkel Larsen

CEO, Climate Impact X

Moderator
Anshari Rahman speaker frame
Anshari Rahman

Director, Policy & Analytics Group, GenZero

10:55 – 11:25
Tea Break
30 mins
11:25 – 12:20
Just Transition in Action: Phasing Out Asia's Coal-Fired Power Plants
55 mins

Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emissions, and power generation from coal has rebounded to historically high levels, far off the path to net zero consistent with limiting global temperature increases to 1.5°C. In Asia, there are about 5,500 operational coal generators, responsible for 4.5 gigatonnes of carbon emissions per year. Asia's coal plants are also far younger than the coalfleets in the US and Europe, with the majority having decades left to operate. To decisively reduce global emissions, the world needs a strategy for the managed phaseout of coal - especially in Asia where the tension between decarbonisation and development is much more acute than in the West.

Although there is wide interest in coal phaseout in APAC, there are insufficient guidance to enable transactions. Existing research also does not bridge the transition credibility and financial viability concerns.

With that as the context, the GFANZ APAC Workstream together with an industry working group and expert advisory panel is developing a practical guidance to Fls on what a "good" coal phaseout looks like, and how these can be executed in APAC to catalyse transitions.

This panel discussion aims to present the coal workstream's three-prong approach for managed phaseout of coal power generation in APAC, namely Transition Credibility, Financial Viability and Socio-Economic Inclusivity.

This panel session is curated in collaboration with Finance for Net Zero (FiNZ) and Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) Asia Pacific Network.

Speakers and Moderators
Speakers
Dr Mark Carney speaker frame
Dr Mark Carney

Co-Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance

Tim Gould speaker frame
Tim Gould

Chief Energy Economist, International Energy Agency

Tiza Mafira speaker frame
Tiza Mafira

Director, Climate Policy Initiative

Dr Priyantha D.C. Wijayatunga speaker frame
Dr Priyantha D.C. Wijayatunga

Chief, Energy Sector Group, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Moderators
Piyush Gupta speaker frame
Piyush Gupta

CEO, DBS Group

Yuki Yasui speaker frame
Yuki Yasui

Managing Director, Asia Pacific Network, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ)

12:20 – 12:45
Climate Philanthropy in Action: Inspiring Private Sector Engagement and Collective Impact
25 mins

An estimated $2 trillion is required annually for developing countries to fight the climate crisis and limit greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. However, present trends suggest that philanthropic capital is disproportionately disbursed to developed countries, and only a minor share of 2% is channelled towards emission reduction. To make a dent in climate change, philanthropic funding must be more effectively disbursed, creatively positioned, and comprehensively deployed to meet existing funding gaps across both developed and developing markets. 

Hear from the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, World Economic Forum and The Rockefeller Foundation on how the private and public sectors can effectively partner philanthropic organisations to drive the net-zero agenda at scale. 

This panel session is curated in collaboration with Philanthropy Asia Alliance, a Temasek Trust initiative dedicated to catalysing collaborative philanthropy in Asia through dynamic multi-sector partnerships.

Speakers and Moderator
Speakers
Pedro Gomez speaker frame
Pedro Gomez

Head of Climate & Member of the Executive Committee , World Economic Forum

Deepali Khanna speaker frame
Deepali Khanna

Vice President, Asia Regional Office, The Rockefeller Foundation

Lim Seok Hui speaker frame
Lim Seok Hui

CEO, Philanthropy Asia Alliance

Moderator
Helene Li speaker frame
Helene Li

Co-Founder & CEO, GoImpact Capital Partners

12:45 – 12:55
Ecosperity Week 2023 Closing Remarks
10 mins
Speaker
Speaker
Dr Steve Howard speaker frame
Dr Steve Howard

Vice Chairman, Sustainability, Temasek

13:00 – 14:00
Lunch
60 mins
View the rest of the programme for Ecosperity Week 2023 here.

Partner Events

14:00 – 19:30
Climate Group Asia Action Summit
330 mins

For the first time, The Climate Group is bringing their action summit series to Singapore as part of their global roadmap to Climate Week NYC.

With a focus on two of the region’s biggest decarbonisation opportunities, the industrial and clean energy transitions, The Climate Group brings their convening power and unique networks to the fastest growing economic region on earth to ask: can Asia become the green economic powerhouse of the future?

They will convene their business members and key regional stakeholders to meaningfully engage on challenges, discuss opportunities for collaboration to unlock green growth and identify the pathways for bolder climate action in the Industry and Energy systems.

For more information., please visit www.theclimategroup.org/climate-group-asia-action-summit.

14:00 – 17:25
GenZero Climate Summit: Navigating Climate Crossroads
205 mins

The world is at a climate crossroads. 

More than 130 countries have committed to net zero, but the biggest challenges to global decarbonisation remain ahead. We need a dynamic, yet concerted, approach to scale impact, leveraging the strengths of technology and nature-based solutions. Notwithstanding recent debates, the voluntary carbon market remains critical and necessary to unlock private and public capital to close the world’s USD 4.1 trillion financing gap by 2050.

Themed “Navigating Climate Crossroads”, the inaugural GenZero Climate Summit (GCS) will focus on how we can live up to our net zero commitments and discuss the potential of diverse pathways to overcome challenges and accelerate decarbonisation globally. A by-invite only event, GCS will convene a senior panel of international leaders from governments, climate investment firms, standard bodies, corporates as well as academia to exchange views on what we need to achieve net zero.

14:00 – 18:00
The Liveability Challenge Grand Finale
240 mins

The Liveability Challenge (TLC) is a global platform presented by Temasek Foundation that hunts for and accelerates the launch of innovative solutions to urban challenges of the 21st century in cities in the tropics. Established since 2018, TLC has grown to become Asia’s largest sustainability solutions platform with a global reach and a reputation helping companies – whose innovative technologies are disrupting industries — to create significant positive impact for society and planet.

Finalists from the 2 tracks of (i) Climate Change, and (ii) Food and Nutrition, will get the chance to pitch for $2.5 million worth of grant and investment prizes which are up for grabs.

www.theliveabilitychallenge.org

14:00 – 18:00
WBCSD APAC Event 2023: Ambition, Action, Accountability
240 mins

The World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) will host its first-ever member event in Asia Pacific, bringing together sustainability experts and leaders during Ecosperity Week 2023. Over three afternoons, the event will dive into a series of sessions that will focus on the “how-to” of addressing priority topics such as tackling scope 3 emissions, financing net zero cities and accelerating nature-positive solutions. The sessions will help WBCSD members and guests exchange best practices and provide clear guidance on implementing strategies in their operations, all within the context of the region.  

Guests and partners are also invited to celebrate the first APAC-dedicated event at WBCSD’s dinner reception on June 6, co-hosted with APRIL. WBCSD will also convene a high-level CFO roundtable on June 7, in partnership with DBS.

More information on the programme and speakers can be found here. Please register here.

15:45 – 17:15
SMBC Roundtable: Accelerating and activating Asia’s transition in the built environment
90 mins

Infrastructure development across Asia continues to intensify with the push for economic growth, demands of urbanisation and our ambitions to become greener and more resilient. Against this outlook, it is imperative that developments do not worsen climate change and actually have sustainability considerations placed as priority.

More can be done by players across the value chain to deploy the latest technologies to ensure all buildings and infrastructure, new and old, are as low-carbon and energy efficient as possible.

SMBC aims to generate a discussion with actionable insights on how industry players can collaborate to reduce the embodied carbon footprint for real estate and infrastructure developments to build greener facilities with lower operating carbon emissions.

By invitation only. For interest and information, please contact corporate_communications@sg.smbc.co.jp.  

View more Partner Events here.

Speakers & Moderators

President
Republic of Singapore
Senior Partner
McKinsey & Company
Co-Chair, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance
Regional Head of Industry, Infrastructure and Natural Resources, Asia and Pacific
International Finance Corporation (IFC)
Managing Director & Head of Alternatives Strategy & Capital Markets, Asia Pacific
BlackRock
President & CEO
International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
Co-founder & CEO
Sylvera
Head of Climate & Member of the Executive Committee
World Economic Forum

Singapore Sustainable Investing & Financing Conference 2022

The finance focused conference on Day 3 at Ecosperity Week 2022 brought together key actors from the Asia-Pacific region, including senior level representatives from central banks, SWFs, financial institutions, private banks, government agencies and corporations.

Themed “Financing Asia’s Green Transition”, SSIFC 2022 (Singapore Sustainable Investing & Financing Conference) focused on how capital can be mobilised to accelerate investment in climate mitigation, catalyse climate innovations, develop stronger carbon markets and accelerate the energy transition. 

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