FII conference: climate tech ‘will not go very far’ without government support and diverse private financing

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‘Sustainability is the defining challenge in our century, but also the biggest trillion-dollar opportunity,’ AlphaTrio Capital founder says

‘The government’s support at a critical juncture is important to encourage transition,’ says vice-chairman of EV maker Xpeng

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An employee checks solar photovoltaic modules at a factory in Haian in China’s eastern Jiangsu province on November 21, 2023. Photo: AFP

Eric NgandMartin Choi

Published: 6:31pm, 7 Dec 2023Updated: 5:34pm, 8 Dec 2023

Technology that holds the key to solving the climate crisis needs more government support and funding from diverse players in the private sector to ensure its successful commercialisation, according to speakers at the Future Investment Initiative (FII) Institute’s first Asia conference.

“Sustainability is the defining challenge in our century, but also the biggest trillion-dollar opportunity,” Poman Lo, founding managing partner of sustainable technology fund AlphaTrio Capital, said at the FII Priority event on Thursday. “The only way we can drive this transition is by leveraging technology, which … can turn [climate] risks into opportunities.

“We need a spectrum of capital to address all the needs, ranging from green bonds to green-tech investing to blended-finance projects, [as well as] projects that need philanthropy.”

With almost 100 countries and 80 per cent of the world’s largest companies having made climate pledges, huge demand for climate technology will create “the next wave of unicorns” with the potential to solve the world’s “existential challenges”, she said. Unicorns are start-ups valued at more than US$1 billion.

Asia-Pacific alone needs investments totalling US$71 trillion to achieve net-zero emissions by mid-century, which is required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and avert the worst impacts from extreme climate events, New York-based international relations think tank Asia Society Policy Institute estimated last April.

FII conference: climate tech ‘will not go very far’ without government support and diverse private financing

‘Sustainability is the defining challenge in our century, but also the biggest trillion-dollar opportunity,’ AlphaTrio Capital founder says ‘The government’s support at a critical juncture is important to encourage transition,’ says vice-chairman of EV maker Xpeng

‘Sustainability is the defining challenge in our century, but also the biggest trillion-dollar opportunity,’ AlphaTrio Capital founder says

‘The government’s support at a critical juncture is important to encourage transition,’ says vice-chairman of EV maker Xpeng