How can Asia become the green economic powerhouse of the future?
Thank you for making our first ever Climate Group Asia Action Summit in Singapore such a great success. With nearly 300 attendees from the world of business, politics, non-profit, philanthropy and media, we discussed how Asia can take urgent action to become the green economic powerhouse of the future.
Climate Group’s mission is to drive climate action, fast. It was truly exciting that with your support, we were able to bring together insights from all across the continent, discuss the challenges and opportunities in the transition of this vital region, and build new connections to help us drive our work further. The next few pages will show you how we did this, and they will provide a platform for future action in Asia.
Climate Group Asia Action Summit was set up to tackle two of the region’s biggest climate change challenges – delivering green energy and the production of green steel. The Summit created the opportunity for experts from across the different areas to come together to dive into the details of how best to deliver on these challenges. Curated
workshops, closed-door roundtables, spotlight sessions and dedicated workstreams for energy and steel, ensured a day packed with actions and learning.
As we look ahead to our headline event of the year, Climate Week NYC, the Climate Group Asia Action Summit was a powerful starting point for the discussion around Asia’s role in driving the green economy. As you will see in this report, we brought together the people with the power and the opportunities to drive change. I look forward to working with you to continue to make this a reality.
Our first Climate Group Asia Action Summit brought nearly 300 of the most influential people in energy and steel together. It was great to see representatives from 23 countries and 183 companies in Asia, each facing their own climate issues, come together in one place to discuss the challenges and opportunities we all face.
The morning of the Summit was divided into two streams, the Green Energy Forum and the SteelZero Summit. Attendees to the Green Energy Forum joined discussions on corporate net zero commitments, the path to green hydrogen, innovations in energy efficiency and India’s role as G20 president, with a special introductory message from India’s G20 Sherpa, Amitabh Kant.
Attendees to the SteelZero Summit had a welcome address from Climate Group’s Head of Industry Jen Carson, followed by a keynote conversation between Climate Group’s CEO Helen Clarkson and His Excellency Key Young Kim, Vice Governor, of Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea. The CIMC TCREA signing ceremony was presided over by our China Director Yuming Hui and CIMC’s Mr Liu Bin, Director and General Manager. The ceremony was followed by sessions on the steel supply chain, the roadmap for green steel and Asia’s role in decarbonising industry.
By providing the space for key moments and declarations at the event, businesses had the opportunity to showcase leadership in their industries. CIMC TCREA used the event to pledge its commitment to SteelZero and source 50% low emission steel by 2030, setting a clear pathway to using 100% net zero steel by 2050.
We were honoured to host high-level government speakers including His Excellency Key Young Kim, Vice Governor, of Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea, and Asia-Pacific Co-Chair of the Under2 Coalition of State and Regional Governments, and a virtual address on the G20 from Amitabh Kant, India’s G20 Sherpa, Government of India alongside Roshni Sen, Principal Secretary for the Environment from the Government of West Bengal and Benedict Chia, Director (Strategic Issues), National Climate Change Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore.
The second half of the day was dedicated to three spotlight sessions focusing on how to cut through policy barriers, the importance of the just transition and where we go from here. The event was rounded off with a network reception where our attendees had the opportunity to speak more intimately with our speakers and other guests.
The Green Energy Forum kicked off with a showcase from three businesses, (Delta Electronics, Ørsted, Cathay Financial Holdings) and Amazon’s Climate Pledge, on why being a leader in the energy transition makes business sense.
Ørsted’s Head of APAC Revenue and Origination, Angela Treanor, discussed its 920 MW offshore wind project off the coast of Taiwan. Meanwhile, Sophia Cheng, Chief Investment Officer, Cathay Financial Holdings, described the phase out of coal as “an opportunity, not a challenge”.
Up next, our session dedicated to green hydrogen – a critical component of the energy transition, and in the creation of green steel. Moderated by Caroline Chua, Lead Analyst, APAC Clean Power, BloombergNEF, the panellists focused on the importance of a just transition in the creation of green hydrogen jobs, as well as the cross-border regulations that are needed
Speakers:
• Shan Shan Guo, Chief Brand Officer, Delta Electronics
• Mathsy Kutty, APAC leader, The Climate Pledge, Amazon
• Sophia Cheng, Chief Investment Officer, Cathay Financial Holdings
• Angela Treanor, Head of APAC Revenue and Origination, Ørsted
• Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
• Rahul Kitchlu, Practice Manager, Climate Change Group, The World Bank
• Benedict Chia, Director (Strategic Issues), National Climate Change Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
• Esther An, Chief Sustainability Officer, City Developments Limited (CDL)
• Anna Biswas, Managing Director, India, Forum for the Future
• Susumu Yoneoka, Senior Manager (Head of Energy Planning), Technology Planning Department
• Nilesh Jadhav, Head, Energy Performance & Sustainability, Siemens
• Amitabh Kant, India G20 Sherpa, Government of India
• Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water
• Roshni Sen, Principal Secretary, Department of Environment, Government of West Bengal
• Namita Vikas, Founder and Managing Director, auctusESG LLP
• Divya Sharma, Executive Director, India, Climate Group
• Sam Kimmins, Director of Energy, Climate Group
to make green hydrogen a national and international success. As Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation said, “low carbon hydrogen is a good just transition story, if we get it right”.
Technology’s fundamental role in delivering the net zero future was on full show for our session on energy efficiency. The panel, moderated by Anna Biswas, Managing Director for India at Forum for the Future, delved into the role of technology in providing insights to the use and efficiency of data. The conversation touched on everything from the importance of data for financial institutions looking to invest, to the harmonisation of IT in buildings to deliver complete energy efficiency oversight.
The Green Energy Forum wrapped up with a special panel on India’s role as this year’s G20 President, opened by a virtual message in which Indian Government’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant described Asia as a “hotbed for ground-breaking climate solutions and innovations.”
low carbon hydrogen is a good just transition story, if we get it right
In the leading steelmaking region in the world, we brought together attendees to discuss how the AsiaPacific can drive the global steel industry’s net zero transition.
Across four sessions we convened leaders from the world of business, politics and finance to delve deep into the specific aspects of the steel industry’s net zero transition that we need to deliver.
Several key themes emerged throughout the morning, focused on supply chain collaboration, the technical and market trends, technological innovations, and the investments that are needed to drive this vital change.
Renewables are central to cutting the carbon emissions from the steel production process. We heard from many speakers on the regional renewable energy capacity needed to support steel decarbonisation pathways. Pascal Langeais of Ørsted talked about the work it’s doing on offshore wind to build partnerships with local steelmakers in South Korea,
• His Excellency Key Young Kim, Vice Governor, of Chungcheongnam-do, Republic of Korea, Asia-Pacific Co-Chair of the Under2 Coalition of State and Regional Governments
• Liu Bin, Director and General Manager of Shenzhen CIMC TCREA Supply Chain Company Limited
• Assyl Ikhsan, Transition Finance, Standard Chartered Bank
• Pascal Langeais, Head of APAC Procurement & Supply Chain, Ørsted
• Peta Olesen, Director – Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government
• Siddhartha Shrivastava, Head of New Energies & Resources Asia, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation Group
• Ian Hiscock, Head of Consulting, China and SE Asia, CRU Group
• Modini Yantrapati, Senior Energy Storage Consultant, APAC, DNV
• Annie Heaton, CEO, ResponsibleSteel
• Fredrik Boman, Senior Director, Body and Chassis R&D, APAC, Volvo Cars
• Brian Voldsgaard, Head of Ocean Asset Partnerships, Asset
• Pascal Langeais, Head of APAC Procurement & Supply Chain, Ørsted
• Cearo Wang, Head of EHS and Net Zero, China and North East Asia, SKF
• Maximilian Schnippering, Head of Global Sustainability, Siemens Gamesa
• Joelle Chen, Head of Sustainability, Asia, Lendlease
There’s no single stakeholder across the value chain and whole ecosystem that can pull this together, so it has to be a collective approach
Assyl Ikhsan, Transition Finance, Standard Chartered Bank
while Peta Olesen of the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water spoke of green hydrogen certification and verification, and Australia’s potential to use its vast reserves of iron ore for green steel supply chains.
Speakers also discussed the need for greater common standards and definitions to enable the transition and alignment of supply chains toward responsibly produced steel. Annie Heaton, CEO of ResponsibleSteel, noted the “common currency” this would provide for the transition.
When it came to finance, the focus was on the importance of supporting innovation in new technologies. Assyl Ikhsan from Standard Chartered, spoke of the role banks can play in supplying the capital for scaling up low carbon technologies.
And as our members showcased their progress on driving demand for responsibly produced steel, a common theme of the summit arose once more regarding the critical role policymakers and governments must play. Maximilian Schnippering of Siemens Gamesa said introducing CO2 pricing is “the key measure we need to do”, while topics including de-risking the green steel market, setting targets and incentives for steelmakers, and sharing the costs of the transition were also shared.
Our afternoon sessions focused on three of the biggest topics, applicable to both the green steel and green energy journeys –policy, just transition and where we go from here.
Much like the morning, the Spotlight Sessions brought together some high-level speakers to engage in direct, purposeful conversations.
Despite business and citizen support, renewable energy is often hampered by restrictive policy decisions that favour fossil fuels. In the first of our three Spotlight Sessions, there were some great examples of countries collaborating on similar challenges, such as Australia, India and the US on green hydrogen.
Peta Olesen, the Australian government’s director in its Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, described the challenge as looking at “the ecosystem, not just the technology. Bringing together governments, big businesses and communities to move projects forward”.
Speakers:
• Benedict Chia, Director (Strategic Issues), National Climate Change Secretariat, Prime Minister’s Office, Singapore
• Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group
• Dr Arunabha Ghosh, Founder and CEO, Council on Energy, Environment and Water
• Ken Haig, Head of Energy and Environmental Policy Asia-Pacific, Amazon Web Services
• Peta Olesen, Director, Net Zero Innovation, International Climate and Energy Division, Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government
• Yaxi Han, Principal, Jiangsu CID Operation Management Co., Ltd.
• Divya Sharma, Executive Director, India, Climate Group
• Joojin Kim, Founder and CEO, Solutions for Our Climate
• Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation
• Nick Smith, Executive Director, Growth & Low Carbon, South Australian Department for Energy and Mining
• Dr Steve Howard, Vice Chair Sustainability, Temasek
• Helen Clarkson, CEO, Climate Group
• Ivy Kuo, PwC Asia Pacific ESG Leader, PwC China
• Marat Zapparov, CEO, Pentagreen Capital
To ensure the net zero transition works for everyone, a just transition is vital. Our next session focused on just that with Sharan Burrow, Former General Secretary, International Trade Union Confederation putting the challenge succinctly saying, “if people are not consulted at the beginning, included in the conversation, then there will be resistance to changes”.
The final Spotlight Session focused on what comes next – where do we go from here? Moderated by Dr Steve Howard, Vice Chair Sustainability at Temasek, the panel included Ivy Kuo, PwC Asia Pacific ESG Leader, PwC China and Marat Zapparov, CEO, Pentagreen Capital. Looking ahead to big events like the G20 and COP28, the panel discussed the bold action that’s needed from leaders in business and government to reach our climate goals. For Ivy, “the sense of urgency everyone recognises. But action is lacking”.
Looking at the ecosystem, not just the technology. Bringing together governments, big businesses and communities to move projects forward.
183
111 climate leaders
Each roundtable gathered senior business and policy leaders to freely discuss key issues around the decarbonisation of the steel and energy sectors across the AsiaPacific region.
ACEC is a coalition of influential renewable energy buyers and sellers aiming to strategically shift policies in key Asian national and regional markets. This roundtable brought together the ACEC Steering Group for a private discussion with Singaporean government authorities on corporate clean energy procurement in Singapore and the region.
Democratising access to high-quality granular energy data is key to enhancing transparency and helping unlock new decarbonisation solutions. This roundtable brought together ecosystem stakeholders to explore the status of energy data availability, quality, and granularity in markets across the APAC region.
The global net zero transition of the steel industry cannot be achieved without Asia, where steelmaking is still dominated by blast furnace production. This curated roundtable brought together business leaders, market experts and government officials to discuss why steel decarbonisation is not only imperative in Asia, but also possible.
56 senior executives took part
organisations represented 41 countries represented 11
We Can. We Will drive action, speed up progress, champion change that is already happening, and break down barriers in our path. We’re gearing up to Climate Week NYC 2023, where business leaders, political decision takers, local change makers and civil society representatives of all backgrounds and from all over the world will discuss how to do more.
The next big moment in your climate calendar.
To get involved in Climate Week NYC, contact us.
