Remarks by Singapore's Ambassador For Climate Action at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025

05 MAY 2025

REMARKS BY SINGAPORE’S AMBASSADOR FOR CLIMATE ACTION AT THE PHILANTHROPY ASIA SUMMIT 2025, MARINA BAY SANDS, SINGAPORE, 5 MAY 2025

Three Ways Philanthropy Can Support Climate Action

Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen.

The climate agenda is facing headwinds, not just in the US, but everywhere.

Concerns about cost of living and job security rank high in people’s minds.
Businesses are reviewing their sustainability goals amid heightened economic uncertainty.
Governments are recalibrating their climate commitments.

Ultimately, nature sets the timeline for climate action, not electoral or business cycles.

Extreme weather events – wildfires, floods, and heatwaves – are becoming more frequent and more severe.
The worst is yet to come, as glaciers recede, ocean currents weaken, and the polar ice caps melt.
We will be forced to act. But the longer we delay, the more disorderly the eventual transition will be.

Climate action will be critical in Asia – for two reasons.

First, Asia is where the fight against climate change will be won or lost.

Asia accounts for 50% of global emissions.
90% of the world’s future growth in energy demand will come from Asia.
More than 150 million people in Asia still lack access to electricity.
Without decarbonising Asia, the world will not reach net zero.

Second, Asia will suffer the most from climate change – lives and livelihoods.

By 2080, over 1 billion people in South and Southeast Asia could be affected by extreme heat.
Asia’s climate-induced losses could reach about 40% of GDP by 2100.

Yet, Asia remains severely underfunded to drive decarbonisation and build climate resilience.

Asia’s funding gap for climate mitigation and adaptation stands at over 800 billion US dollars annually.
Public capital is willing but insufficient. Private capital is ample but unwilling to commit in a big way because the risks are too high.

This is a time for philanthropy to play a larger role in driving climate action in Asia.

A partnership across public, private, and philanthropic capital can help to effectively plugs the gaps in Asia’s climate finance.

But the climate philanthropic space remains at a nascent stage.

Globally, less than 2% of philanthropic giving goes towards preventing climate change. Of this, only 12% goes to Asia, despite the region’s outsized needs.
When engaging philanthropies, I often hear that they are unsure where to direct their resources in the climate space.

Let me outline three areas where I think philanthropic capital can support climate action.

Crowding in private capital
Enabling public goods
Ensuring just transition

First, crowding in private capital for decarbonisation projects.

Decarbonisation projects are often capital-intensive and require large upfront investments.
This goes beyond the capacity of any single stakeholder.

Philanthropies can leverage innovative funding instruments such as blended finance to maximise the impact of their contributions.

The premise of blended finance is to use concessional capital to de-risk and crowd in commercial capital.
This concessional layer - coming from public and philanthropic capital - accepts first-loss and lower returns, thereby catalysing significantly more private capital.
Compared to direct grants, blended finance allows philanthropies to amplify the impact of their giving.

Let me make a pitch for Singapore’s FAST-P or Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership.

FAST-P is a blended finance platform to support green and transition projects in Asia – from phasing out coal and strengthening grid infrastructure to electrifying transportation and decarbonising industrial processes.
The Singapore Government has pledged 500 million US dollars as concessional capital to be matched dollar for dollar by other sources of concessional capital.
The aim is to use this 1 billion dollar base of concessional capital to crowd in four times more private capital for a total fund size of 5 billion US dollars.
FAST-P has already attracted philanthropic funds from partners such as the Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet, the Asian Development Bank, and Allied Climate Partners.

Second, enabling public goods for climate action

Many parts of Southeast Asia lack sufficient climate data, hindering mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Philanthropies can fund data collection, enhance access, and build local capacity in data analysis.
Let me share three specific examples where philanthropies can help.

The Global Mitigation Potential Atlas is a digital tool which identifies cost-effective emissions reduction opportunities.

Developed by an international consortium of researchers and piloted in nine Southeast Asian countries, it is now being expanded to the US, China and Australia.
Workshops have been conducted for officials in Southeast Asia on using this tool to help develop actionable decarbonisation policies.

The Climate Action Data Trust is a digital platform which enhances transparency in carbon markets.

Established by Singapore, the World Bank, and the International Emissions Trading Association, the platform aggregates and standardises carbon credit data, covering 85% of all credits issued globally.

The Cambodia-Mekong Delta Aquifer Project uses science-based assessments to address sustainability challenges in the Lower Mekong Basin.

Funded by the Global Environment Facility, this project aims to enhance resilience in agriculture, drinking water and biodiversity for millions in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Philanthropies are in a good position to work with the scientific community and national authorities on transboundary climate risk assessments that often fall through the cracks.

Third, ensuring a just transition for communities.

The transition to a low-carbon economy will disrupt communities and livelihoods.

Decarbonisation entails changes in long-standing economic activities – be it changing agricultural practices or phasing out fossil fuel power generation.
We need to re-skill workers and empower communities to ensure they are able to navigate the transition.
Philanthropies are well-placed to support just transition given their experience working directly with communities.
Let me share two examples of just transition.
The Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory seeks to decarbonise rice cultivation while securing the livelihoods of smallholder farmers by improving food security.
The Coal-to-Clean Credits Initiative has stipulated that 2% of the revenues from carbon credits generated by the early phase-out of coal should go into redeploying displaced coal workers to new jobs.

Let me conclude.

Amid the disruptions entailed by the transition to a lower carbon world, we need philanthropy to help communities successfully navigate the change.

Amid the growing risks to lives and livelihoods from the climate crisis, we need philanthropy to help communities adapt and thrive.

Philanthropy cannot do all this alone. Governments must play their part. The business community and private capital must step up.

But philanthropy can be the catalyst to forge new partnerships, to enable the collective action necessary to safeguard the future of our planet and its people.

The Greek root of the word philanthropy means “love for humanity”.

And this is what philanthropy brings to the table: where there is division and fragmentation, to be a force for the collective good of humanity.