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1. A very good morning to Her Excellency Kara Owen, British High Commissioner to Singapore;
Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore;
Dr Mark Carney, Co-Chair of Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero, and UN Special Envoy for Climate Action and Finance;
Partners of GFANZ and friends from the industry.
2. It is great to see so many senior financial industry leaders from Singapore and across Asia, here today. We are heartened by your presence as it shows the importance your organisation places on climate action. This means a lot to the efforts of GFANZ, especially as it announces today a concerted push to help accelerate Asia-Pacific’s transition to net zero.
3. Sustainability efforts in APAC have come a long way in recent years. Policymakers, corporates, investors and many other stakeholders in the ecosystem are responding to the call for action. However, while there has been progress, the region still needs to work a lot harder and faster to meet net zero goals.
4. As an international multi-asset exchange that connects Asia and the world, SGX Group is committed to working with the ecosystem to facilitate APAC’s transition – taking into consideration the diverse and complex needs of the region. With the support of MAS, Temasek and Bain, we are pleased to host the newly-announced GFANZ APAC Network Central Office at our premises. We are very excited with GFANZ’s efforts in APAC and look forward to deepening our support in this region.
5. Just as exchanges operate marketplaces that are fair, transparent and orderly, I believe the same principles can guide APAC’s transition to net zero. Transition should be fair, ensuring that companies, communities and individuals are not left behind for worse or for poorer. It should be transparent, with disclosure on how all of us intend to work towards net zero, even if it is at varying levels and time horizons. And it should also be orderly, bearing in mind that many industries, business models and supply chains cannot be changed overnight.
6. It is at the same time imperative that we collectively implement the highest level ambition, and I am grateful for the leaders here stepping forward today. The ecosystem working together to build trust and credibility is essential to enable countries to collaborate in faith, public and private sectors to partner for good, and investors to invest in green and sustainable products with confidence.
7. Thank you to GFANZ and its members, MAS, Temasek, Bain and all our partners for your deep commitment to climate change. We are inspired and believe that together, we can make a difference in this region.
