Eco Money

At a time when the threat of climate change is prompting countries to reshape their environmental and energy policies, China's commitment through investments, manufacturing prowess and supportive policies is anchoring its leadership in the clean energy sphere. With the shift in stance by the Trump administration towards climate change, China now leads in global investment in clean energy, channell...

With an emissions trading system, the policy involves setting a total cap or limit on carbon emissions, which makes companies switch to low-emission or renewable energy sources. In contrast, a carbon tax establishes a price directly on carbon emissions so that companies are charged a certain amount for every tonne of emissions produced. While some countries have adopted both an ETS and a carbon ta...

Carbon offsets first took off in the 2000s when the UN launched the Clean Development Mechanism. For those who might not be familiar, carbon credits are intended to reduce, remove, or avoid emissions. But while the intentions are good for our planet, companies working to generate climate benefits through credit purchases often grapple with the differences and uncertainties of credit quality to ens...

With the effects of climate change permeating through more layers of society, and natural resources growing scarcer - the concept of natural asset companies, a new investment model that ties environmental preservation to economic growth, is catching on. Such companies monetise natural ecosystems, providing investors an avenue to fund initiatives that protect and restore biodiversity, water resourc...

In recent years, the rise of green bonds has provided a promising financing mechanism in climate change mitigation efforts, and studies investigating this market have revealed the notion of a 'green premium' or 'greenium' within green bond pricing. But, how prevalent is the existence of a green premium in the green bond market and how do ESG factors influence investor behavior and the pricing of g...

In the journey to go greener, infrastructure can be a powerful tool for fair and sustainable economic growth when done right.  But, with differences across the world when it comes to definitions for sustainable infrastructure, alongside other challenges such as regulatory, political, and exchange rate risks, development of such infrastructure itself is challenging. This can lead to complex pr...

For many countries, debt burdens and lack of access to international capital are enormous hurdles to meeting their ambitious biodiversity and climate goals. With the latest launch of The Nature Conservancy's latest project in Ecuador late last year, the global conservation organisation now has six nature bond projects in implementation, and that’s expected to unlock approximately US$1 billio...

The UK government's development finance institution and impact investor, British International Investment (BII) recently launched Sustainable Asia Renewable Assets (SARA), a new renewable energy platform jointly formed alongside Dutch development bank FMO and European investment manager SUSI Partners. SARA is aiming to build a 500-megawatt portfolio of greenfield renewable energy projects across S...

A recent analysis of 700 companies across 11 industries and 14 Asia-Pacific jurisdictions revealed that while 72% acknowledged issues like water and biodiversity, only 25% considered them material to their business. What’s driving the disconnect and the key gridlocks in finance models? And what are the implications now that the US has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement a second time?  O...

Identifying financing needs for climate action is not straightforward, especially when it comes to finding equal footing and funding. With government budgets already strained and differences in standards and expectations, as seen with the stalled negotiations at COP29, the private sector is set to play an increasingly larger role in closing the gap. As part of efforts to recognise the importance o...

Over the past five years, the Eco Money segment has reported on record breaking temperatures, green bonds, blue bonds, brown bonds, and even rhino bonds - and shared the latest news and views when it comes to sustainability investment. In the last episode of Eco Money, Rachel Kelly reflects on key topics covered and highlights from the segment.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...

Emissions have continued to slowly increase for equities. That’s according to the latest research from London Stock Exchange Group. This despite aggressive global decarbonisation targets. In its paper - Decarbonisation in portfolio benchmarks - LSEG aims to unlock key trends and  challenges of calculating portfolio emissions. To get the details, Rachel Kelly speaks to Jaakko Kooroshy, Global Head...

Sustainability may be a top business priority, BUT would it surprise you to know that only 6% of business leaders report that their organisation has completed at least one round of sustainability implementation according to  NTUC Learning Hub’s Sustainability for Business Resilience Report 2024 . Holding back efforts seems to be a gap between management and employee expectations when it comes to s...

According to a special report by consultancy, XDI - close to one in 10 assets belonging to Reits across Asia-Pacific will be at high risk from the effects of climate change and extreme weather by 2050.  The 2024 Singapore Governance and Transparency Index has also indicated that S-Reits commonly identified climate change as a material issue. To get a clearer picture when it comes to the impact of...

Singapore has once again emerged as the ASEAN leader in energy transition efforts, for the second year in a row. That's according to the latest annual survey by the Sustainable Energy Association of Singapore (SEAS) with 250 industry professionals from the energy sector. However, nearly one-third of energy professionals believe the city-state’s renewable energy targets need more aggressive action....

There’s been a sharp decline in CEOs’ prioritization of sustainability - that’s according to the latest research from Bain & Co. Instead AI, growth, inflation, and geopolitical uncertainty have risen to the top of their agendas. That said, this slowing momentum on sustainability could come with a tangible cost. Bain estimates a temperature increase of 2 degrees Celsius could cut $6 trillion fr...

Is your company ready to meet ESG reporting requirements? It can be complicated to navigate differing regulations and requirements if you are looking at cross market reporting.  The Sustainable Finance Institute Asia has announced the appointment of Environmental, Social, and Governance data and technology solutions company, STACS ESGpedia, as the official ESG platform partner for the Single Acces...

Global sustainable finance issuance volumes may be starting to see more green shoots in 2024. In the first half of 2024, issuance of sustainable debt around the world reached $800bn, almost at the same level as that in the first half of 2023 - showing sustained momentum. Rachel Kelly speaks to Mariam Ashroff, Head of Sustainability Management at LGT Private Bank to get her take on key transition a...

According to recent research from Booking.com - over 80% of travellers state that sustainable travel is important to them.  Booking.com gathered insights from 31,000 travellers across the globe, and 75% said that they want to travel more sustainably this year - and over 40% said they would feel guilty if they made less sustainable travel choices.  BUT, what does it take to incorporate sustainable...

As a consumer, do you think you are doing as much as you can to be sustainable? According to the EY Energy Transition Consumer Insights Report 2024, 77% of energy consumers in Singapore believe that they are doing as much as they can to be sustainable. That said, more than 50% of consumers are not willing to pay more for more sustainable products. So what does this all mean for the energy transiti...

An unprecedented 128,000 millionaires are expected to relocate worldwide this year. That’s according to the latest report from Henley and Partners. The great migrations comes as the world grapples with a perfect storm of geopolitical tensions, economic uncertainty, and social upheaval, millionaires are voting with their feet in record numbers. Now, another factor is increasingly weighing on the mi...

Temasek has launched its inaugural Sustainability Report. The state owned investment firm says that this brings together its disclosures and tracks progress, taking into consideration the disclosure requirements issued by the international sustainability standards board. In its latest review just announced this week- Temasek says it deployed S$3 billion into investments aligned with the Sustainabl...

In this episode of Eco Money, Rachel Kelly speaks with Susie Burrage OBE, President, Bureau of International Recycling (BIR) on her journey within the recycling industry, being appointed as the first female president of BIR, AND major business trends and investment opportunities within the sector.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kavita Gandhi, Executive Director of SEAS and Christophe Inglin, Vice-Chairman, SEAS/Managing Director, Energetix speak with Rachel Kelly about the latest developments in the regional renewable energy industry.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

MSCI research shows that so called sustainability linked products in the fixed income space could offer a greenium, or green premium.  To find out just how much and which sectors top the charts, Rachel Kelly spoke to Jakub Malich, ESG Fixed Income Research Lead at MSCI See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.