SEADS 2023
Financing Net Zero
Plenary Panel
The Westin Resort, Nusa Dua / Bali and Online (Hybrid)
30 March • 10:10 a.m.–11:25 a.m. GMT+8/ Bali Local Time
SPEAKERS
- Ramesh Subramaniam, Director General, Southeast Asia Department, ADB
- Felipe Medalla, Governor, Philippine Central Bank (BSP)
- Mafalda Duarte, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Investment Funds
- Herry Cho, Managing Director, Head of Sustainability and Sustainable Finance, Singapore Exchange
- Yuki Yasui, Managing Director, Asia–Pacific Network, Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero
- Moderator: David Ingles, TV Anchor and Chief Markets Editor, Bloomberg TV APAC
BRIEF DESCRIPTION
With $210 billion per year needed for climate adaptation and mitigation investments in Southeast Asia, the region needs innovative schemes to finance net-zero initiatives. This plenary panel will examine the challenges the region is facing to finance its net-zero goals and propose ways to mobilize capital.
BACKGROUND
The world needs to sharply reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) to achieve Paris Agreement goals, but there is no credible pathway to do so yet. Achieving net zero by 2050 requires large-scale and rapid transformations and an estimated $125 trillion of investments by 2050 across all regions and all sectors, and approximately $32 trillion just for the next decade alone.
A new International Energy Agency report finds that with Southeast Asia's energy demand expected to grow annually by around 3% to 2030, the region's carbon dioxide emissions are projected to grow by about 35% from 2020 levels. The Asian Development Bank estimates the region needs approximately $210 billion per year to finance climate-resilient infrastructure by 2030 to avoid the loss of up to one-third of the region's gross domestic product by 2050. ASEAN member states have committed to scaling-up climate actions, and nine members have pledged to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. However, this commitment is conditional on securing external financing and building the necessary climate infrastructure.
Achieving climate neutrality in Southeast Asia is crucial to mitigating climate change impacts and contributing to global climate targets. The financial sector—both the industry players and the regulators—plays a critical role. As climate impacts intensify—with climate risks now recognized as severe by respondents to a global survey—acting at the pace and scale required to advance to net zero has never been more pressing.
SESSION OBJECTIVES AND BENEFITS
This session aims to:
- Explore how to bridge the financial gap in building climate-resilient infrastructure in the region and meet 2050 net-zero targets;
- Examine the roles of investors, finance industry players, regulators, and other actors in ensuring that climate financing is appropriately prioritized and scaled;
- Highlight policies, mechanisms, and innovative financing models that can help countries bridge the climate finance gap;
- Encourage sharing of ideas on successful case studies and policies that have helped spur the growth of climate financing in the region.
