This year will mark 10 years since the launch of the first Ecosperity conference in 2014. Themed "Renewing Our Vibrant Spring", this year’s event will put a spotlight on nature-based solutions to address the urgent and interconnected imperatives of climate change and nature loss, in addition to the global decarbonisation agenda and corresponding policy and finance enablers needed for a green and just transition. Ecosperity Week will be held from 15 to 17 April 2024 at the Sands Expo & Convention Centre, Singapore.
Opening this year’s Ecosperity Week is Ms Grace Fu, Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment & Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, who will deliver the conference’s keynote address around enabling policies across carbon, energy, and economy on 15 April. Mr Tharman Shanmugaratnam, President of the Republic of Singapore, will deliver the keynote address at the conference’s Welcome Dinner in the evening on the same day. Ms Razan Al Mubarak, President of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the UN Climate Change High-Level Champion for COP28, will kick off the second day’s discussions around the scientific and business case for nature-positivity on 16 April.
Ecosperity Week 2024 will also feature many other prominent global public, private and non-governmental speakers, including The Hon. Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Secretary of Environment and Natural Resources, The Philippines; Mr Dominic Barton, Chairman, Rio Tinto and Chairman, LeapFrog Investments; Mr Tim Gould, Chief Energy Economist, International Energy Agency; Ms Emily McKenzie, Technical Director of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD); Ms Jennifer Morris, CEO of The Nature Conservancy; and Prof Zou Ji, CEO & President, Energy Foundation China.
"Nature-based climate solutions have the potential to provide up to a third of the emission reductions we need to keep global warming below 1.5°C. But nature itself is also declining at unprecedented rates, wreaking havoc on ecosystems worldwide. Asia is among the most at-risk regions, with 63 per cent of its GDP at risk from nature loss, but also where the opportunity is. Hence, we need a holistic, integrated approach to achieve our collective climate and nature goals," said Ms Kyung-Ah Park, Head of ESG Investment Management & Managing Director, Sustainability, Temasek. "With this year’s theme of 'Renewing Our Vibrant Spring', we aim to rally stakeholders for action, and catalyse the systems-level change we need to realise a thriving, sustainable world for current and future generations."
Bain & Company, GenZero, Standard Chartered Bank, and Temasek will also launch the fifth edition of the annual Southeast Asia Green Economy Report on 15 April. Titled “Moving the Needle”, the 2024 report will highlight high-impact investment areas and key accelerators, such as policy and sustainable finance mechanisms, tailored to the region.
"Given the significant shortfall in investment to meet climate mitigation and adaptation needs in emerging and developing Asia, we need to urgently scale financing through concerted and collaborative action from public, private and philanthropic actors. This will require innovative financing and risk mitigation approaches, such as in blended finance and carbon markets," said Ms Gillian Tan, Assistant Managing Director (Development and International) and Chief Sustainability Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore. "The Financing Asia’s Transition (FAST) Conference seeks to forge partnerships between the financial sector and non-financial sector corporates, and foster action-oriented discussions on solutions to support Asia’s net zero transition."
Jointly organised by BlackRock, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and Temasek, the second iteration of the FAST Conference will gather key decision-makers across financial institutions and the real economy to catalyse sustainable finance, with a focus on spotlighting transition financing initiatives and solutions for the region. Held on 17 April as part of Ecosperity Week, the FAST Conference will kick off with an opening address by Mr Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director of the MAS.
Other prominent speakers and panellists on this day include Mr Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara, Executive Director & CEO, Temasek; Mr Philipp Hildebrand, Vice Chairman, BlackRock; Mr Rick Ramli, Acting President & Group Chief Executive and Chief Investment Officer, Private and Strategic Investments, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB); Ms Marisa Drew, Chief Sustainability Officer of Standard Chartered Bank; Mr Jay Koh, Co-Founder & Managing Director, The Lightsmith Group and Founder & Chairman, Global Adaptation and Resilience Investment Working Group and Ms Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) Confederation and Global Board of Director, World Resources Institute. Discussions will be focused on the enablers to close the climate finance gap while ensuring a just transition – particularly in Asia – including transition finance approaches and mechanisms, and the business case for adaptation financing.
Ecosperity Week will welcome new partners with its 10th edition, including the Philanthropy Asia Summit (PAS) held from 15 to 18 April. The Summit convenes and connects global and regional leaders across sectors, and aims to catalyse philanthropic-public-private partnerships to achieve impact in the interconnected areas of climate and nature, health and education. Organised by the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, an initiative by Temasek Trust to foster collaborative philanthropy in Asia, the PAS will feature speakers including Mr Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum; The Rt Hon Tony Blair, Executive Chairman of the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change and Former Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; Dr Regina E. Dugan, President and CEO, Wellcome Leap; and Ms Solina Chau, Co-Founder, Horizons Ventures and Director, Li Ka Shing Foundation.
“To scale impact, we must forge robust public-private-philanthropic partnerships. Philanthropic funds, being risk-tolerant, can initiate pilots, gather critical data, and pave the way for sustainable outcomes when combined with additional capital and structural support from the public and private sectors. By hosting the Philanthropy Asia Summit alongside Ecosperity Week, leaders and stakeholders can explore how capital may be used in various ways to tackle complex challenges. This convergence of ideas and resources holds immense potential to spark impactful multi-sector collaborations,” said Ms Lim Seok Hui, CEO, Philanthropy Asia Alliance.
As a convening platform, Ecosperity Week 2024 will play host to some 20 partner events, showcasing the diversity in perspectives, solutions and action crucial to address pressing environmental and societal challenges. From carbon markets to Southeast Asia’s bioeconomy, to accelerating the launch of innovative solutions and workforce upskilling, discussions will centre around catalysing greater capital flows and unlocking capabilities to support a green and just transition.
The 10th edition of Ecosperity Week will also see the launch of the Ecosperity Action Hub. As a satellite stage, the Action Hub will feature a series of succinct, impact-oriented sessions showcasing the latest sustainability-led initiatives and solutions with tangible outcomes. Highlights include:
Ecosperity Week 2024 is made possible with support from headline sponsors PwC Singapore, RGE, SMBC, UBS; and supporting sponsor SP Group.
For more information on Ecosperity Week 2024, visit www.ecosperity.sg.
Temasek is a global investment company with a net portfolio value of S$382 billion (US$287b) as at 31 March 2023. Our Purpose “So Every Generation Prospers” guides us to make a difference for today’s and future generations.
As an active investor, forward looking institution and trusted steward, we are committed to deliver sustainable value over the long term.
Temasek has overall corporate credit ratings of Aaa/AAA by rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings respectively.
Headquartered in Singapore, we have 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and London, Brussels, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Mexico City outside Asia.
As Temasek's key platform for global engagement and advocacy around sustainability, Ecosperity brings together leaders across the private and public sectors, academia and civil society to exchange views, share best practices and push the agenda on sustainable development. Twinning ecology and prosperity, the word Ecosperity reflects Temasek's belief that doing good and doing well can – and must – go together.
For more information on Temasek, visit www.temasek.com.sg.
For media queries, please contact:
Celine Koh
Assistant Vice President, Public Affairs, Temasek
Tel: +65 9753 0547
Email: celinekoh@temasek.com.sg
Dian Anderson
Weber Shandwick for Temasek
Tel: +65 8571 1502
Email: temasekecosperity@webershandwick.com
