Carbon emissions from fossil fuels hit a record high last year, and 2023 left its mark as the hottest year on record. By some estimates, more than US$3 trillion per year till 2050 is needed for Asia to achieve net-zero emissions, and this financing gap presents both a challenge and an opportunity.
Though financing is essential in addressing climate change, large-scale infrastructure investments required for transition and adaptation typically do not meet the criteria of traditional financing solutions. Innovative financing solutions will require the radical collaboration of governments, financial institutions, philanthropic actors and solution providers, to de-risk investments and crowd in capital for a green and just transition.
Jointly organised by BlackRock, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Temasek, the Financing Asia's Transition (FAST) Conference 2024 will convene key decision-makers across financial institutions and the real economy. Themed 'Crowding In Capital for Sustainable Growth', the conference aims to facilitate conversations on transition and adaptation financing, including discussions on concrete steps, toolkits, frameworks and collaborations required to translate climate ambition into action.
The Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference will be held on 17 April 2024, as part of Ecosperity Week 2024.
Marina Bay Sands
Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Level 5
Climate investments into EMDCs remain insufficient to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The world needs purpose-driven leadership with strong and committed engagement of all stakeholders – governments, private sectors, multilateral development banks and development finance institutions, philanthropy, to co-create a pipeline of investment opportunities and deploy innovative and scalable financing structures, to scale decarbonisation in Asia. The keynote speech will highlight the impetus for a longer-term ecosystem approach for climate action, and highlight Singapore’s efforts in supporting the global effort.
Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore
The planet is facing a “polycrisis” of interconnected and complex challenges, with heightened trade fragmentation, diverging ideologies, and conflict, among other factors, putting global cooperation on climate issues at risk. While we have seen progress on cooperative arrangements in climate change, more can be done to plug financing gaps as global emissions continue to rise.
The keynote panel will highlight how governments, businesses and financial institutions can reimagine their roles in enabling climate transition and explore how innovative cooperative arrangements are helping to bridge financing gaps in energy transition projects in Asia and beyond.
Vice Chairman, BlackRock
Chairman, Allied Climate Partners, Co-founder & Managing Principal, Three Cairns Group
Executive Director & CEO, Temasek
Assistant Managing Director (Development and International) & Chief Sustainability Officer, Sustainability Group, Monetary Authority of Singapore
Despite its potential to significantly reduce emissions in Asia, the early phase-out of coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) is challenging and actual examples of such transactions in the region are few. The large and young fleet of CFPPs in Asia means that additional financing mechanisms are needed to improve the economic viability and scale such transactions.
High-integrity transition credits, generated from the emissions reduced through retiring a CFPP early and its replacement with clean energy sources, is one such financing mechanism that can be explored. This solution showcase spotlights two transition credits pilots, namely (i) South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation coal plant in Philippines, and (ii) a coal plant in Mindanao, Philippines. It will feature the progress as well as the practical experiences of piloting the use of transition credits.
President & CEO, ACEN
Advisor, Energy Transition Mechanism and Partnerships, Asian Development Bank
Executive Vice President, Program Strategy, The Rockefeller Foundation
The transition will require considerable capital investment, and under BlackRock Investment Institute’s Transition Scenario, systemwide capital expenditures is expected to double to over $4T/yr by the mid-2030s. These expenses are expected to shift from higher- to lower-carbon industries over time, but in the near term, higher-carbon incumbents will need upfront financing to pivot their businesses towards low-carbon products or production practices, or to gear up for rising operating costs as climate factors get priced in due to technology or policy-induced shifts. Emerging low-carbon solutions will also need private capital to commercialise and scale.
How can investors approach the transition across the capital stack – across listed and unlisted equities and debt This session will travel through the exciting range of transition opportunities, pressing into the latest developments within each unique asset class.
Managing Director; Head of Alternatives Strategy & Capital Markets, Asia Pacific, BlackRock
When financing the transition to net zero, a pivotal question stands - are people sufficiently considered amidst this transformative journey? The program segment unravels the complexities surrounding climate transition, delving into geographical and socio-economical considerations that either prioritise or marginalise people. Navigating this conundrum, the fireside chat seeks to illuminate the challenges and opportunities in crafting financial solutions that not only mitigate environmental impact but also prioritise inclusivity and social equity.
Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), Global Board of Director, World Resources Institute
Professor in Practice for Sustainable Finance, London School of Economics, Executive Director, Just Transition Finance Lab
Vice Chairman, Sustainability, Temasek
Acting Vice President, Investment Operations (Region 1), Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
Private markets play a disproportionate role in financing Asia’s decarbonisation as the transition requires massive capex financing, with the spending gap expected to be $1.4tr this decade. The transition requires us to mesh the unique financing needs of corporates in the physical world with investors looking for returns to fit their portfolio needs.
The infrastructure sector in Asia is in a pivotal phase of growth and secular change, presenting attractive opportunities to deploy capital and yet the funding gap exists. What does successful deployment look like and how do we think about enabling the transition at scale in SEA while being attuned to the unique financing needs across each country? What more needs to be done to build the right ecosystem to enable aptly-priced and efficient flow of capital to transition infrastructure in Asia?
CEO, Chow Energy
Acting President & Group Chief Executive, Chief Investment Officer, Private and Strategic Investments, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB)
Managing Director & Co-Lead APAC, Climate Infrastructure Group , BlackRock
Head of Private Capital Asia Pacific & Head of Malaysia, Oliver Wyman
The effects of the climate crisis are no longer merely a concern for tomorrow, but an existential threat to livelihoods today. 2023 saw nearly 400 notable natural disasters across the globe, amounting to US$380 billion in economic losses. Yet, the global adaptation finance gap is estimated to be US$194-366 billion per year. This lack of adequate public and private adaptation and resilience investments exacerbates the potential impact of rising physical climate risks particularly in developing markets including in Asia.
While investing in climate adaptation has often been seen as a public funding issue, the lack of participation from the private sector often stems from a misunderstanding of the potential returns and opportunities in adaptation and resilience projects. Studies have shown that the benefit-to-cost ratios could range from 2:1 to upwards of 10:1.
This panel will expand on the business case for financing adaptation, highlight where these investment opportunities lie, and discuss how private finance for climate adaptation projects can be catalysed and scaled.
Chief Sustainability Officer, Standard Chartered Bank
Co-founder & Managing Director, The Lightsmith Group, Founder & Chair, Global Adaptation & Resilience Investment Working Group (GARI)
Regional Director Southeast Asia, Climate and Energy, Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)
Managing Director & Head of Public Sector Solutions, Asia Pacific, Swiss Re
Managing Director & Partner, Boston Consulting Group (BCG)
Head, ESG Investment Management & Managing Director, Sustainability, Temasek
Director, Sustainability, Temasek
AtoZero Asia 2024 is a leading industry platform fostering the Net Zero energy transition in Asia. It marks the third edition of the global AtoZero series, facilitating impactful leadership dialogues, investments, and innovations.
The event, anchored in Singapore, serves as a gateway to multi-billion-dollar clean energy projects across Asia, connecting the industry ecosystem. It is set to host Ministerial VIPs, NOCs, IOCs, National Utility companies, speakers, exhibitors, and more than 1500 attendees from over 50 countries.
This year’s summit has set its focus on four essential industry verticals – Solar, Regional Grids, LNG, and Hydrogen. Event highlights including strategic and technical stages, Chief Sustainability Officers' Roundtable, Global Leaders Dialogue, Solar & Storage Forum, and Hydrogen Forum, provides insights into pioneering sectors like Hydrogen, Ammonia, and Carbon Capture & Storage. The event offers networking opportunities and insights from industry influencers, promoting collaboration in the region's energy landscape.
Please note the event timing across the two days:
For more information, please email conference.asia@atozero.energy.
This exclusive roundtable discussion on the electric vehicle (EV) industry in Asia will explore the investment opportunities and challenges in this fast-growing sector. Hear from industry experts, and BlackRock investors across public & private markets on the critical investment trends in the growing sector - from battery technology and charging infrastructure to consumer adoption and policy support.
Areas of discussion will include:
To move the needle towards net zero, we must progressively decarbonise across all sectors of the economy. This means green finance alone is not enough. The world needs transition finance – to provide the funding support for businesses to adopt cleaner technologies and increase energy efficiency.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has launched the Finance for Net Zero (FiNZ) Connect Series, to bring together key stakeholders, through regular workshops, roundtables and webinars, to deepen conversations on how financial sector can support the transition of real economies in Asia to net zero.
On 17th April, MAS will be organising three FiNZ Connect sessions in partnership with our knowledge partners. The sessions will explore topical issues on the managed phaseout of coal fired power plants, application of blended finance to scale nature based solutions, as well as the gaps and enablers in developing a strong and capable workforce in sustainable finance.
More information can be found here. Due to limited capacity, the events are by-invite and for registered attendees only.
Themed “Ensuring Climate Resilience and an Inclusive Transition in Emerging Markets”, the Roundtable will be an intimate gathering that brings together impact investing industry experts, leading investors, and companies for meaningful discussions on industry trends, business solutions and growth opportunities. The event is co-organised by Temasek and the Centre for Impact Investing and Practices (CIIP).
This is an invite-only event. For more information, please email impactroundtable@temasek.com.sg.
The Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) is the Philanthropy Asia Alliance’s flagship collaborative platform catalysing philanthropic-public-private partnerships to address pressing environmental and societal challenges.
For more information, please visit https://www.philanthropyxchange.sg/pas/ or email pas@philanthropyasiaalliance.org.
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.
Programme, speakers and partner event details are subject to changes.
The finance-focused conference on Day 3 at Ecosperity Week 2023 brought together key actors from the Asia-Pacific region, including senior-level representatives from central banks, NPOs, financial institutions, private banks, government agencies and corporations.
The inaugural Financing Asia's Transition (FAST) Conference discussed the critical financial enablers for transition and the need for stable regulatory policies, policy incentives and multilateral involvement to instil investor confidence and crowd in climate financing from the private sector.