GenZero

GenZero will be at #ClimateWeekNYC from 22-26 September! 📢 Events we will be speaking at 23 September (Monday) ✳Rockefeller Foundation-MAS Transition credits event on “Scaling demand for transition credits: what will it take?” ✳Business Alliance to Scale Climate Solutions, Forest Investor Club, and Symbiosis Coalition Roundtable on “How to improve financing for next-generation natural climate solutions in the VCM” 24 September (Tuesday) ✳The Climate Leaders' Assembly, jointly hosted with Bain & Company and the National Climate Change Secretariat, Singapore, and organised by Carbonless Asia 25 September (Wednesday) ✳Voluntary Carbon Market Day, convened by VCMI, The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM), Global Carbon Market Utility, and supported by Bloomberg Philanthropies 26 September (Thursday) ✳IETA North America Summit ✳Mitsubishi Corporation, Bain & Company, WBCSD – World Business Council for Sustainable Development Nature for Climate Event We look forward to seeing you in #NewYork soon!

"Fighting against climate change is a team sports that requires a collaborative effort. Each of us plays a strategic role in our respective positions, and it is imperative that we understand how our actions intersect. Finance can be a powerful catalyst, enabling us to collectively achieve our shared climate goals.” In a panel hosted by NUS Centre for International Law (CIL) that brought together our General Counsel; Managing Director and Head of Corporate Services Group, Sim Ting, Ministry of Trade and Industry’s Peter Govindasamy, Singapore Management University School of Law’s Pasha L. Hsieh as well as moderator Danielle Yeow from CIL, panellists underscored the critical nexus between #sustainability and #trade in combating climate change. Key #takeaways: 💰 Blended #finance can lower the cost of capital, but bankability remains a roadblock for a number of #decarbonisation projects. The revenue stream that comes from #carboncredits can lower the cost premium associated with decarbonisation projects and play a critical role in crowding more finance into such projects. 🌏 The dual impact of climate change—its direct effects and the potential negative consequences of mitigation measures—necessitates pre-emptive cooperation among nations to ensure a harmonious transition. This involves identifying and mitigating potential conflicts that may arise in climate policy implementation. 🤝 High-quality environmental credits, traded on international platforms like Article 6, are essential for accelerating decarbonisation efforts. To maximise their impact, countries should recognise the principle of mutual recognition and develop methodologies to ensure equivalence among carbon pricing schemes. 🔍 Legal clarity of the nature of voluntary carbon credits (VCCs) is fundamental to the growth and effectiveness of the voluntary carbon market (#VCM). Clarity on this issue would enable more financing as investors and lenders have certainty on ownership, position at insolvency, taking of security and structuring of deals involving trusts. 💚 We are grateful to be a part of this engaging discussion! #climatechange #blendedfinance

Private capital alone is insufficient to bridge Asia's green transition. At Financial Times’ Moral Money Summit Asia 2024, GenZero CEO Frederick Teo shared his views on the challenges and potential unlocks to mobilise private capital to accelerate the region's green #energy transition. Blended finance, debt financing, and innovative financing mechanisms will be key in enabling a just transition. For instance, #transition #credits can help drive economic value towards the early shutdown of #coal plants and finance the expansion of #renewables.   “As #investors, we need to think about how we are able to structure certain things. We have always been talking about blended finance, but one of the greatest challenges is catalysing catalytic financing. How do we change that? One of the things that we think is important is having clear regulatory signals on demand, the pricing of carbon, and the pace at which the energy transition should be executed. This will enable private sector players and other capital owners, including banks, to be clearer on how to support transition efforts.” When asked about which areas #GenZero sees as less investable, he quipped, “There are no uninvestable areas. The question for us is how do we make it more investable as many of the areas we look at are going to be critical.”   Thanks Asilah Azil, Partner at McKinsey & Company, Marie Cheong, Founding Partner at Wavemaker Impact, and James Tam, Partner at Bain Capital Private Equity for the engaging discussion, as well as Simon Mundy, Editor of #FTMoralMoney, for moderating the session! All the best to the #FinancialTimes team for the second day of the Summit tomorrow. Check out the agenda at https://lnkd.in/eEcKHTVT

“One thing is clear – the US$700b funding gap still exists today. While there is a growing interest in the space, the bigger question is: how quickly can #capital be deployed and what will we need for it to scale for greater impact?“ Ling Min Hoon, GenZero’s Investment Director shared her views on the lay of the land for #naturefinance to kick off the new season of The Straits Times’ Green Pulse – a podcast hosted by Audrey Tan and David Fogarty. Together, they discussed how some innovative financial instruments for nature have been around for decades. Did you know that the concept of a debt-for-nature swap dates back to the 1980s? The concept was initially socialised by WWF and the first debt-for-nature agreement was signed between Conservation International and Bolivia in 1987. Aside from providing the lowdown on the different instruments for nature financing - from carbon credits to rhino and coral reef bonds - Ling Min also discussed the criticality of placing a quantifiable value on something as complex and multifaceted as #nature. Here are some key takeaways from the podcast: 🌱 While interventions for nature need to be grounded in science, it is also key for financial institutions to have a seat in the room as they bring market mechanisms that can mobilise the capital needed to move the needle for nature conservation 💰 Concessionary capital is of paramount importance but projects cannot be solely reliant on donors and grants for longevity and permanence. Concessionary and private sector capital can go hand-in-hand as a powerful combination to crowd in capital for scale. 🌐 Harmonisation of #standards and #methodologies, along with enabling regulations and stability in regulatory frameworks, will go long way in channelling the flow of nature #finance. Thank you Audrey Tan and David Fogarty for having #GenZero for the first episode of your new season! 🎧 Listen to Green Pulse’s ‘Eco-nomics: Putting a value on nature is also key to saving it’ featuring Ling Min here: https://lnkd.in/g8r-vZse

Financing the clean energy transition remains one of the biggest challenges in the journey to #netzero. Across all clean #energy technologies and infrastructure, the International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates that an annual investment of USD 4.5 trillion per year by the early 2030s is needed to accelerate deployment, up from USD 1.8 trillion in 2023. So there is an urgent and critical need for blended finance and innovative financing mechanisms such as #TransitionCredits to plug this gap, especially in developing markets such as #Asia. What are Transition Credits? ❗ Transition credits are a new class of carbon credits that are generated through the early retirement of coal-fired power plants (#CFPPs) The case for Transition Credits 🌏 Asia accounts for 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which a third is from CFPPs ⚡ Despite falling costs of wind and #solar, structural barriers such as long-term power purchase agreements and the value of baseload power generation hinder the phase-out of #coal 🏭 Without intervention to accelerate the retirement of CFPPs, coal is expected to remain a mainstay of energy systems in many countries, especially in Asia 📈 Transition credits are a way to finance the early retirement of CFPPs, and channel private capital towards accelerating the #energytransition For transition credits to be viable, robust safeguards are needed to ensure that the credits represent reductions that have high environmental integrity and support a #justtransition. Several transition credit methodologies are in various stages of development. We are closely tracking these developments and will select the most appropriate methodology at a later stage, one that is robust and implementable. We may also go beyond what the methodologies require to tighten safeguards. As part of efforts to integrate Transition Credits into the early retirement of CFPPs, we partnered with ACEN and Keppel (Infrastructure Division) to accelerate the retirement of the 246 MW South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation CFPP in the #Philippines and replace it with a #cleanenergy facility - hopefully providing a blueprint for other plants to follow. 👉 Read more about our Transition Credits efforts here: https://lnkd.in/g3cMSV3K

“To achieve a nature-positive future, we must significantly scale up investments into nature-based solutions (#NBS). Finance flows to NBS currently stands at US$154 billion per year, and we need to at least triple that by 2030 in order to meaningfully move the needle. #Carbon finance will be essential in bridging this gap. We need market mechanisms, such as #carbon markets, that allow us to place a price on emissions and other negative impacts on #nature, to serve as a pathway for greater #climate financing.”   Speaking at a panel on ‘Nature Positive for Global Impact’ at the Singapore Carbon Market & Investor Forum last week, GenZero Investment Director, Ling Min Hoon, along with fellow panellists Dale Hardcastle from Bain & Company, Pallavi Kalita from Business for Nature, Jennifer Sinclair from GreenCollar and Akash Verma from NUS Centre for Nature-based Climate Solutions discussed the value of NBS and how market mechanisms can spur the adoption of nature-positive business practices and policies. Key #takeaways: 🌏 Blended finance is a powerful tool for emerging economies in Asia. By mobilising additional capital and mitigating risks for NBS, blended finance can potentially accelerate the implementation of carbon projects in the region. 📢 Mandatory disclosures within evolving regulatory frameworks are driving businesses to increasingly prioritise and recognise the potential of NBS. 🤝 Fostering meaningful community engagements and respecting indigenous rights, including upholding the principle of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (#FPIC), are fundamental to the long-term success of NBS. 📈 High-quality #data is essential for effective NBS planning and evaluation. While technology in data collection has improved in recent years, greater democratisation of data will be critical to accelerate #innovation and knowledge exchange within the industry.   Thanks Carbon Market Institute (CMI) for organising and inviting us to be part of the Forum, and Janet Hallows for moderating the session! 💚 👉 For more insights shared at the Forum, along with Ling Min’s perspectives on the importance of engaging indigenous communities in nature-based projects, check out the following article by S&P Global Commodity Insights: https://lnkd.in/guTWRT48 #CMISingaporeForum #carbonfinance #carbonmarkets #decarbonisation #naturebasedsolutions #naturepositive

GenZero is glad to sign a MOU with ACEN and Keppel Ltd. to pilot the use of #carboncredits for the accelerated retirement of the South Luzon Thermal Energy Corporation (#SLTEC) #coal-fired #powerplant (#CFPP) in Batangas, the Philippines. When completed, this project is expected to be one of the #first converted CFPPs in the world to generate transition credits. Witnessed by Grace Fu, Minister for the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore and Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, Secretary for the Department of Environment and Natural Resources of the Philippines, the MOU was signed by Cindy Lim, CEO of Keppel (Infrastructure Division), Frederick Teo, CEO of #GenZero, Cezar Consing, Chairman of #ACEN, and Eric Francia, President and CEO of ACEN. Frederick Teo, CEO of #GenZero, said, “Cross-border collaboration is critical to achieve a just #energytransition in #SoutheastAsia and help our economies achieve our decarbonisation objectives. Transition credits can help crowd in catalytic financing for such coal-to-clean energy initiatives. We are excited to partner with ACEN and Keppel to bring complementary expertise from the Philippines and Singapore to pilot a scalable model that can accelerate such decarbonisation efforts globally.” Key highlights ✳ The origination and sale of #transitioncredits is expected to accelerate the decommissioning of the CFPP in 10 years (by 2030) ✳ The project will explore the development of end-to-end technological solutions and economic model of the coal-to-clean transition focused on the replacement of the 246 MW baseload of the CFPP with a mid-merit Integrated Renewables and Energy Storage System consisting of #solarplant and battery storage ✳ The project will be carried out in collaboration with The Rockefeller Foundation's Coal to Clean Credit Initiative (#CCCI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Transition Credits Coalition (#TRACTION), and will take into account #ESG considerations and best practices ✳ Has the potential to come under #Article6 of the #ParisAgreement collaboration between the #Philippines and #Singapore 👉 Check out our media release at: https://lnkd.in/g3cMSV3K #coaltransition #browntogreen Photo below from the MOU signing ceremony in #Manila earlier today with: Eric Francia, ACEN, President & CEO; Cezar Consing, Ayala Corporation President & CEO and ACEN, Chairman; Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga, DENR Secretary of the Philippines; Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment of Singapore; Cindy Lim, CEO, #Keppel's Infrastructure Division; Frederick Teo, #GenZero, CEO, Jaime Alfonso Zobel de Ayala, ACEN, Director; Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Ayala Corporation, Chairman; Fernando Zobel de Ayala, #Ayala Corporation, Board Director.

We are happy to announce that Sei-Wei Ong has joined GenZero as an Investment Advisor! Bringing over two decades of investment experience spanning Asia, Latin America, and the United States, he was most recently Managing Director at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC) where he led the origination, execution, and monitoring of capital deployed across a diverse range of investment vehicles, including direct investments, co-investments and funds. Join us in welcoming Sei-Wei to #GenZero! 

Of fireworks, friends and family 🎇 Today, #TeamGenZero celebrated family day alongside the nation’s 59th birthday as friends and family were treated to local delights and the best vantage view of the parade and festivities from our office. Happy National Day, Singapore! 🇸🇬❤️ #majulahsingapura

✏️🌱Education and advocacy are instrumental to advancing climate action. GenZero is glad to have had the opportunity to participate in a sharing session with youths at the Climate Youth Development Programme’s (CYDP) Induction Week co-organised by the Ministry of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore (MSE), National Climate Change Secretariat, Singapore (NCCS), and National Youth Council Singapore (NYC), where our Vice President of Strategy and Development Hui Qing Soh 苏慧卿, shared insights on what inspires her to lead #ESG efforts at #GenZero and the roles of different players in mobilising international #climateaction.   "Pursuing #sustainability is truly a calling and a passion. As a mother of a two-year-old daughter, what keeps me up at night is whether she and her future children will still have a hospitable planet to call home in the coming decades. How can we ensure that our actions today pave the way for a sustainable tomorrow for many more generations to come?" In terms of catalysing #climate action, she shared about the importance of #carbonmarkets in enabling a #justtransition, and as a tool to reduce the green premium of emerging low-carbon technologies to accelerate their adoption. 👏 Thanks CYDP for providing a valuable platform for #youths and the climate ecosystem to connect and collectively deepen our understanding on the various pathways to advance climate action. 💚 Also special thanks to fellow speakers Fam Wee Wei, Director of Climate Change & Sustainability at Ministry of Trade and Industry (Singapore) (MTI), Su-E Yap, Director of Corporate Engagement at The Nature Conservancy, and Hana Chambers, Multilateral Climate Engagement Manager from the International Energy Agency (IEA) for the engaging discussion, as well Arun Vignesh, Assistant Director (Global Partnerships) of the National Climate Change Secretariat for moderating the session.