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The financial sector stands at a crossroads of change: Since the 2008 global financial crisis, the role of finance in building equitable, sustainable economies has been extensively debated across societies. Set amid this backdrop is the rise of sustainable finance, which allocates capital with an environmental, social and governance (ESG) lens to create long-term value for all stakeholders. Despite the encouraging momentum, however, the deployment of sustainability-driven capital remains small relatively to the size of global markets.

Unlocking Capital for Sustainability aims to accelerate the growth and adoption of sustainable finance in capital markets, with a particular emphasis on the Asia and the Pacific.

The forum is an annual premiere event organized by Eco-Business in partnership with UN Environment Programme (UNEP) that brings together high-level decision makers in finance, business, government, and civic society to discuss and commit to actionable initiatives that mobilize the capital markets for sustainable development. 

This year, the event will feature a series of forums hosted in Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Singapore:

• 31 August—Navigating Indonesia’s Net-Zero Journey | Indonesia
• 8 September—Powering a Just Transition for Malaysia | Malaysia
• 14 September—Mobilising Climate Finance from the 4Ps—Public, Private, and Philanthropic Partnerships | Philippines 
• 28 September—Enabling an Equitable Transition | Singapore
• 27 September—Beyond Growth in Asia: Defining an Equitable Vision | Singapore (Pre-Summit)

The event will be held alongside the UN General Assembly Week and in the run up to the COP28 climate change meeting in Dubai in November.

The Asian Development Bank's Southeast Asia Development Solutions is one of the knowledge partners of the event.

Featured speakers

• Zeno Ronald R. Abenoja, Undersecretary, Chief Economic Counselor, Department of Finance, Philippines
• Jean-Marc Arbogast, Country Manager, Philippines, International Finance Corp.
• Gigih Udi Atmo, Director for Energy Conservation, Ministry of Energy and Mineral Resources, Indonesia
• Tommy Koh, Ambassador-at-Large, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Singapore
• Desmond Kuek, CEO, Temasek Trust
• Warren Evans, Climate Envoy, Office of the President, Asian Development Bank
• Jiro Tominaga, Country Director, Indonesia Resident Mission, Asian Development Bank
• Nana Subberwal Batra, Chief Executive Officer, AVPN
• Rhodora M. Brazil-De Vera, Deputy Director, Supervisory Policy and Research Department, Financial Supervision Sector, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
• Jessica Cheam, Founder and Managing Director, Eco-Business; Independent Director, Wilmar International and ComfortDelGro Group
• Hsin Yao Cheng, Founder and CEO, Helios
• Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco, Undersecretary, Department of Finance, Philippines 
• Leticia Guimarães, Lead, Carbon Markets; Climate Hub, United Nations Development Programme