Transforming Asia: Mobilising finance at speed and scale

Last year, Singapore published one of the world’s first taxonomies to provide a science-based definition of transition activities across eight focus sectors that account for over 90 per cent of Asia’s emissions. The national taxonomy is meant to enable more financial flows towards transition projects deemed to be moving towards alignment with the Paris Agreement – including abated natural gas the early phase-out of coal-fired power plants – while minimising greenwashing risks.

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With transition finance, which was previously shunned by financiers in Europe, gaining traction in other parts of the world, is the time finally ripe for it to take off? What are emerging frameworks and instruments for financing a just transition? This panel will convene speakers across the real economy and financial sector to discuss how the new rules can close the region’s transition financing gap.

Many countries in the region with valuable carbon stocks, like Malaysia and Indonesia, have set up their own carbon exchanges in recent years. But carbon credits are still not being actively traded in this region and national guidelines to define what are considered “high-integrity” credits are still under development.  

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How far is Southeast Asia away from a regionwide carbon trading market? What are the moving parts that need to be addressed to harness the untapped potential of carbon credit financing for biodiversity conservation? This panel will convene market players to explore pathways towards a regional carbon market in Asia.

Despite growing pressure to decarbonise, Asian fossil fuels majors have been responsible for the largest emissions hike since the Paris Agreement was signed and show no signs of slowing production. At the COP28 climate summit last year, countries – including those in the region – agreed to triple renewables capacity and double the rate of energy efficiency improvements by 2030.

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But with a wide consensus that the region still lacks bankable projects in renewable energy, nature-based solutions and early coal phase-outs, how can Asia get on track to meet these new targets? What are the energy transition mechanisms needed to improve the economic viability of such projects? This panel will bring together experts to discuss the emerging opportunities in financing the transition of hard-to-abate sectors for this region.

Over 130 Asian companies have pledged to start reporting against the Taskforce for Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) framework by FY2025. But unlike climate-related risk, which is increasingly seen as a material issue, companies are only just starting to assess their nature-related impacts.  

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Environmental groups have also raised concerns about how effective a reporting framework penned by the same corporations behind historical environmental and human rights abuses will be to keep companies in check, pointing to the need for laws that will punish those driving nature degradation.

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Is a markets-based approach sufficient to drive the changes we need to reverse nature loss? What laws are needed to hold companies to account for harming nature and to drive nature-positive outcomes in Asia? This panel convenes regulators across the region to explore regulations that better incentivise companies to integrate nature and biodiversity risks into their business decisions.

Climate tech has reached a crossroads. Massive layoffs are happening in the renewables space among big names like Orsted and Neste, while the valuations of many plant-based food makers that hailed a tech-enabled revolution have plunged in the last few years.  

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What are some proven technologies with high decarbonisation potential that urgently need help getting past the “valley of death”, where firms struggle to scale due to funding gaps? How should investors navigate the increasingly frothy space of climate tech and artificial intelligence? Are we seeing a marked shift to climate adaptation solutions from climate mitigations solutions? This panel will bring together experts to discuss how the region can cultivate a culture of innovation and cross the valley of death.