HSBC Singapore jointly launches Singapore Green Finance Centre

This multi-disciplinary research and training hub will enable financial institutions, corporates, and policymakers to improve risk management, develop solutions, and design policies that will enable fundamental incorporation of a climate lens into decision-making.

SGFC will draw on the respective strengths of Imperial College Business School and the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University in climate science, financial economics and sustainable investing, pursuing research that supports Asia’s low-carbon transition, equipping professionals with new skills and developing a strong pipeline of green finance talent.

Tony Cripps, CEO, HSBC Singapore, will be serving on SGFC’s advisory board, which provides guidance on the strategic direction of SGFC. He says: “Globally, climate change is the seismic risk that we simply can’t get wrong. HSBC sees this as a ‘front and centre’ responsibility, but it’s a societal problem and it needs a cross-society solution. This means bringing experts and players from different sectors – including academia – to address existing knowledge gaps in the sustainable finance ecosystem and drive meaningful thought leadership.”

HSBC brings with it expertise and experience as a leading global thought leader in sustainable finance, with over two decades of experience incorporating environmental, social and governance (ESG) considerations into investment processes and active ownership of the companies it invests in. The bank has also established award-winning Centres of Excellence (CoE), including the HSBC Climate Change CoE and ESG Research, and the HSBC Centre of Sustainable Finance.

Climate change will particularly impact Southeast Asia^[1]:

• Since 1990, Southeast Asia has contributed 87% of the growth in total incremental greenhouse gas emissions, according to data sourced from Our World in Data.
• Studies suggest that of the 20 global cities most vulnerable to rising sea levels, 15 are in Asia and five of them are in ASEAN.
• ASEAN will lose 11% in GDP by 2100 if climate issues are not addressed in the next decade.

Today’s announcement follows HSBC’s announcement that it will allocate up to USD1 trillion towards supporting clients transition towards lower carbon emissions.

[1] Data from HSBC Global Research published in September 2020. Read the full report.