Mr Teo Chee Hean, Chairman, Temasek Holdings
His Serene Highness Prince Max von und zu Liechtenstein,Chairman, LGT Group and Founder, Lightrock
Distinguished guests
Ladies and gentlemen,
1. Good morning, and welcome to the fifth edition of the Financing Asia’s Transition Conference (FAST) in 2026.
a. Over the years, FAST has become an invaluable platform that brings together policymakers, financial institutions, industry players and climate finance experts to advance practical solutions for financing Asia’s transition.
b. Let me take the opportunity to acknowledge and thank our key partner, Temasek Holdings, for your close collaboration with MAS on this annual event.
2. We meet at a time when global markets are navigating a more complex operating environment.
a. Recent geopolitical developments have highlighted the risks of energy price shocks and supply disruptions.
b. This has prompted policymakers and businesses to take a closer look at strengthening resilience, and how to better manage risk and build capacity to operate effectively in an environment where volatility is increasingly the norm.
3. Against this backdrop, the sustainability conversation has continued to evolve.
a. There is a clear need to build a diversified pool of energy sources, which has further strengthened the case for investments in clean energy and regional power grids. These will help countries to enhance their resilience to global energy shocks and improve energy security.
b. At the same time, countries and businesses must also guard against longer-term trends, such as physical risk impacts from increasing frequency and severity of extreme weather events, as well as slow-boil but very serious developments like rising sea levels. You won’t see it happen immediately, but over time, gradually, it can become something with serious consequences.
4. Rather than a parallel agenda, or worse be seen as a peripheral area of work, sustainability needs to be embedded into core business strategies and core business practices, so that we can ensure resilience, business continuity and long-term competitiveness.
5. For Singapore, our approach has been consistent and pragmatic. As Mr Teo Chee Hean said when he was in Government, we are neither a “climate sceptic” or a “climate zealot”. We are a “climate realist”, recognising the realities of global warming while managing the practical trade-offs. We will continue this approach to adopt a long-term perspective and to build up our readiness. This morning, please allow me to outline the three key areas that MAS has been focusing on:
a. First, catalysing Capital for Climate outcomes. We remain committed to advancing innovative financing strategies. Blended finance and carbon markets can help mobilise private capital and support Asia’s transition in ways that are pragmatic, credible, and grounded in regional realities.
b. Second, strengthening Market Infrastructure and Frameworks. We are working to put in place enabling conditions for capital to flow, through credible taxonomies and robust market frameworks.
c. Third, charting a Road to Resilience. We recognise the need for private capital to expand its scope beyond climate mitigation, with increased efforts directed towards adaptation and resilience financing as an emerging area of opportunity.
Catalysing Capital for Climate Outcomes
FAST-P
6. Let me start with catalysing capital for climate outcomes. In 2023, we launched the Financing Asia’s Transition Partnership, or FAST-P for short. This initiative uses blended capital structures to crowd in commercial and concessionary capital for green and transition solutions that have traditionally found it more challenging to attract financing.
a. The Singapore Government had pledged up to US$500 million as concessional capital, to match concessional capital from other partners, aiming to raise up to US$5 billion to support Asia’s green transition.
b. Since its launch, FAST-P has developed three partnerships focused on different projects. These partnerships have garnered strong support from multilateral banks, development finance institutions, philanthropies, banks and insurance companies.
7. Today, I am pleased to share new milestones reached for each of these partnerships:
a. The Green Investments Partnership, or GIP, has now achieved its second close, bringing total commitments to US$800 million. We welcome our new partners – DBS and Cathay United Bank. GIP has committed 25% of its first close amount, or US$128 million, to four sustainable infrastructure investments in Southeast Asia.
b. The Industrial Transformation Programme, or ITP, has further expanded its coalition of initial partners to include British International Investment and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA. The Asian Development Bank also plans to participate, subject to internal approvals.
c. The Energy Transition Acceleration Finance, or ETAF, will now have Private Infrastructure Development Group and DBS as new partners for its displacement sleeve.
8. There is more to look forward to as ITP and ETAF are progressing towards their first closes later this year.
a. Each new partner and every dollar committed sends a powerful signal that the world’s leading institutions are staying the course on climate action. This is an important reassurance during this period of greater global uncertainty.
b. In fact, I would argue that the more uncertain the world is, the more important it is for us to renew our commitment to this important long-term endeavour.
c. And each commitment brings us closer to the scale of financing needed to support Asia’s energy transition.
9. We are also strengthening FAST-P’s strategic direction and global connectivity. I am pleased to announce the formation of FAST-P’s International Advisory Board, or IAB in short, that will be chaired by Climate Ambassador Ravi Menon.
a. The IAB will provide strategic advice and feedback to keep FAST-P aligned with global and regional energy transition trends. It will also guide the scaling and deployment of FAST-P funds, and inform the development of its next phase.
b. The IAB members include Lord Adair Turner, Chair of the Energy Transitions Commission; Baroness Shriti Vadera, Chair of the World Bank Private Sector Investment Lab; and Mark Gallogly, Co-founder of Three Cairns Group.
c. We are grateful to them for lending their expertise and support to this effort.
Carbon Markets
10. A second area of focus is carbon markets.
a. Carbon credits offer a market-based solution to improve the commercial viability of transition projects, helping to unlock financing and enable mitigation activities that may otherwise not proceed.
b. There are valid concerns about the reliability and accuracy of how some carbon credits are derived, and we should certainly address these points, but at the same time we should not abandon the use of carbon credits as that will be throwing the baby out with the bath water.
11. As a trusted business hub and financial centre, Singapore continues to play an active role in advancing the development of credible and high-integrity carbon markets in Asia and beyond.
12. We have taken steps to strengthen demand. Clear and credible offtake signals are foundational to building a market, and critical to unlocking financing.
a. The Singapore Government has published the Voluntary Carbon Market Guidance to help domestic companies use credits credibly in support of their transition plans.
b. Singapore also co-leads the International Coalition to Grow Carbon Markets with the governments of Kenya and the UK, which issued shared principles at COP30 to support more consistent use of credits across jurisdictions.
c. Yesterday at the GenZero Climate Summit, the industry-led Action for a Resilient Climate Coalition was launched. Backed by the Singapore Government, it brings together demand for high-integrity carbon credits and puts the aforementioned principles into action.
13. Alongside this, MAS is supporting financial institutions to build carbon market capabilities and activities, and develop carbon financing solutions.
a. The Financial Sector Carbon Market Grant was launched in October last year, and MAS has seen promising response from financial institutions who are looking to build deep carbon market capabilities in Singapore.
b. The first awards are expected later this year.
14. Over time, the combination of stronger demand and improved market capabilities can help to catalyse the development of a credible pipeline of high-integrity carbon projects across the region. This is the goal that we should work towards together.
15. It will not be easy, it will take effort, it will require us to work in partnership, but this is the goal that we should work towards together.
Strengthening Market Infrastructure and Frameworks
16. Next, let me talk about strengthening market infrastructure and frameworks. For capital to flow at scale, we need frameworks that are credible, practical and useful for supporting decision-making, so that financial institutions and corporates have the confidence to plan ahead and take decisive action.
a. This is especially important in Asia, where climate transition must be balanced with energy security, affordability and economic development priorities.
17. The Singapore Asia‑Taxonomy, or the SAT, was developed with this objective in mind. Since its launch, it has given corporates and banks greater clarity on green and transition financing activities, and also greater confidence in pursuing their sustainability strategies.
18. As businesses navigate rising costs, supply‑chain disruptions and technological changes, regional transition financing needs will evolve. It is therefore important that our frameworks remain fit‑for‑purpose.
19. MAS and the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association, or SSFA, have commenced a review of the SAT for a few key sectors, such as energy, maritime and data centres.
a. The review will consider the pace of technological developments, updated scientific data, and practical implementation challenges.
b. It will also consider expanding the SAT transition definitions to support financing to enabling activities. For example, manufacturing the components needed for green hydrogen. This would spur more capital flow, and in turn scale up the supply of green hydrogen.
c. MAS and SSFA are engaging industry, corporates and international bodies in the review, which is targeted to be completed by end of this year.
Charting a Road to Resilience
20. And finally, let me turn to charting a road to resilience.Beyond mitigation, adaptation and resilience, or A&R, is increasingly recognised as a risk imperative. Physical climate risks affect asset values, insurance costs, business continuity and long-term investment returns.
21. Regionally, Southeast Asia is warming faster than the global average. Coastal cities and agricultural systems are increasingly exposed to floods, heat and water stress. This will impact businesses and communities well beyond national borders – connected through regional supply chains, food systems, and critical infrastructure. So in a way our fates are tied together. It is not something that individual countries can say we will just do what is within our borders, and not pay attention to what is happening in the region outside our country. Because what happens outside can also have a significant impact on what happens to us inside our country. So it is best that we work together to try and tackle some of these common challenges.
22. We recognise that climate resilience cannot be advanced by any single country’s efforts alone – it is inherently a collective endeavour. We either swim or sink together. Singapore is working closely with regional partners to improve adaptation planning, and strengthen collective resilience across ASEAN. There has been some good work done on this front.
23. As countries and businesses embark on their A&R journeys, managing near-term exposures to climate shocks remains critical. ASEAN+3 has taken a lead in enhancing the region’s financial resilience through the Southeast Asia Disaster Risk Insurance Facility, or SEADRIF.
a. Building on this, Singapore is working with our ASEAN+3 partners to expand SEADRIF’s role towards protecting public infrastructure and addressing agricultural risks.
24. Access to global risk‑bearing capital can increase longer-term capacity for catastrophe risks and strengthen financial resilience in the region. MAS has broadened our Insurance-Linked Securities grant scheme to support growing demand for alternative risk transfer solutions not only in Asia, but also globally.
a. The scheme supported the Asian Development Bank’s inaugural catastrophe bond issuances earlier this month, giving countries like Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan access to rapid and committed financing when disasters hit.
25. Looking ahead, the next frontier is to move upstream - complementing post-disaster recovery financing with greater investment in resilience-building measures that reduce the impact of climate shocks when they occur.
a. Annual financing needs in Southeast Asia is estimated to be at US$17.5 billion, or close to 90% of total needs.
b. Bridging this gap will require greater mobilisation of private capital alongside public and concessional funding.
c. There is scope for Singapore’s financial sector to contribute through developing insurance-linked and other financing solutions, as well as risk advisory capabilities.
d. The SSFA has responded to this, setting up an industry-led A&R workstream. Its aim is to develop practical guidance for financial institutions to identify A&R business cases, and to scale financing solutions.
From Risk to Readiness
26. To conclude, we are living in uncertain times. But uncertainty should not be a reason or excuse for inaction. It should instead strengthen our resolve to work together even more closely, and to act early and prepare well – so that we turn today’s risks into tomorrow’s readiness.
27. MAS will continue to work closely with our industry partners to build capabilities and strengthen capacity to scale transition and resilience financing. This will help businesses and financial institutions navigate an increasingly volatile environment, while advancing Asia’s transition to a more resilient future.
28. I hope this conference will be useful for you and your team to forge more partnerships, discover more ideas and turn them into practical pathways, and also develop more solutions that can deliver real economy impact across the region.
29. Thank you very much.
[1] Source: https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Policy-Brief_Bridging-The-Gaps-in-Adaptation-Finance-in-Asia.pdf
