Sustainability appears set to lead discussions at Singapore’s Fintech Festival this year, as attendees both confront the necessity of addressing climate change and look for ways to cash in on going green.

The Singapore Fintech Festival 2019 comes on the heels of the report, «World scientists’ warning of a climate emergency,» by 11,258 scientists across 153 countries and a myriad of different disciplines. That report «clearly and unequivocally» labels climate change an emergency.

Financing Asia’s shift toward a greener future won’t come cheaply: Southeast Asia is estimated to need around $200 billion annually through 2030, while China would need $450 billion to $600 billion annually to reach its green policy goals, according to research from DBS Bank and the U.N.

Catastrophic Impacts of Climate Change

One of the opening speakers, Singapore’s Education Minister and board member of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) Ong Ye Kung, will be presenting on green finance. Singapore has aimed to become a center for the issuance of green bonds. In a speech in October, Jacqueline Loh, deputy managing director at the MAS, said that Asia accounted for nearly $50 billion of green bond issuance in 2018 or around 30 percent of the global $168 billion issued.

At the conference, the topics up for discussion include the catastrophic impacts of climate change — and how the financial industry can address them. Those topics will range from how insurers will need to include climate change in their forecasts, to how fintechs can use technology to help measure the climate risks, assist with sustainable investment decisions and develop sustainable financing options.

A Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

Large investors, including Temasek, UBS, Axa, Allianz, and Bain, will be discussing how they build sustainable portfolios — a process they call a «trillion-dollar opportunity.»

The conference itself is upping its game on sustainability, with steps including not offering plastic straws and asking attendees to bring their own reusable water bottles for refills. The conference will also discuss how fintechs can address the unbanked while making the financial system more inclusive.

Crucial Step in Escaping Poverty

Around 69 percent of adults globally, or around 3.8 billion people, now have a bank account or a mobile-money provider, up from just 51 percent in 2011, according to the World Bank’s Global Findex report for 2018. Having a bank account is considered a crucial step in escaping poverty. Around 1.7 billion adults globally remain unbanked, the report said, but noted around two-thirds of them having mobile phones, which could help them access financial services.

  • finews.asia is an official media partner of the Singapore Fintech Festival 2019. This article is published in collaboration with «Shenton Wire».