Asia Research & Engagement (ARE)

📢 Our latest LinkedIn newsletter is out! This edition covers highlights from ARE’s participation at the 24th China International Fair for Investment and Trade (CIFIT), where global investors managing over USD 15 trillion in assets engaged in strategic dialogue on sustainable investment and China’s green transition. From roundtables with state-owned enterprises (SOEs) to fireside chats on ESG investment, discover how ARE facilitates constructive dialogue between leading investors, Chinese policymakers, SOEs, and key industry players to drive high-quality development. 📖 Read the full article and don't forget to subscribe for more insights on sustainable development in Asia. #SustainableInvestment #GreenTransition #ESG #CIFIT #China

🌍 New Insights on China's Coal Action Plan   ARE's latest Insight piece, ‘China Coal Action Plan Offers Roadmap for Coal Phase-Out’, authored by Helen Jia, Runjin Yang, and Benjamin McCarron, explores China’s new plan for coal-fired power plant emissions reduction, setting the stage for a shift in the country’s energy landscape.   Key points:   📉 The new plan outlines carbon emissions-reduction targets for both new and retrofitted coal power plants, using biomass, ammonia, and carbon capture.   💰 Analysis shows that these targets will likely drive up the cost of low-carbon coal-fired power above that of renewables paired with grid-scale storage.   🚨 The plan signals a policy shift away from unabated coal, creating increased risks for new coal investments and placing a stronger case for power utilities to commit to no-new-coal investments.   What could this mean for the future of coal, energy investments, and China’s climate commitments? 📖 Read our analysis and insights here: https://lnkd.in/e3k4EKYM   #ClimateAction #Decarbonisation #EnergyTransition #ChinaEnergy #CoalPhaseOut #Sustainability #CleanEnergy #InvestmentRisks #ESG

🌱 Interview with Rituj Sahu on Climate Resilience & the Future of Food Systems   🎙️Our Protein Transition Director (India), Rituj Sahu, was recently interviewed by Sandhya Sabapathy in her "Beyond the Bottom Line" series to discuss climate resilience, corporate stewardship, and the future of food.   Here are 3 key takeaways from their discussion:   1️⃣ Climate Action and Corporate Strategy: Companies must shift from reacting to market changes to driving market transformation, and sustainability needs to be embedded into their core business strategy. 2️⃣ Asia Protein Buyers’ 100 Report: Our report uncovered significant gaps between surface-level disclosures and real sustainability efforts across Asia’s food industry. Out of 100 companies: 🔹 Only 2 companies demonstrated actual due diligence for labour across supply chains 🔹 Only 2 companies had made time-bound commitments to end deforestation. 🔹 Only 2 companies had validated Science-Based Target initiative (SBTi) targets for long-term emissions reduction. These findings highlight the need for greater corporate accountability in achieving meaningful climate action. 3️⃣ India’s BioE3 Policy: Rituj discussed the role of public policy in achieving net-zero transition in food systems. He elaborated on India’s recently announced BioE3 policy, which focuses on harnessing biotechnology for sustainable economic growth and environmental stewardship, highlighting the opportunities at scale with alternative proteins, among other examples. He explores this further in his recent op-ed.   📖 Read the full article to dive deeper into this engaging conversation: https://lnkd.in/e3q-Tm9e 👉 Rituj's latest op-ed on India's BioE3 Policy can be found here: https://lnkd.in/ejvxgqJC  #ClimateAction #CorporateStewardship #FutureOfFood #Sustainability #ProteinTransition #BioE3 #FoodSystems #AsiaProteinTransition #ClimateResilience #ProteinTransition #ESG

🌱 Event Recap: Unlocking Capital for Sustainability 2024! 🌱 Our Energy Transition Director, Kurt Metzger shared his perspectives on Asia’s path to decarbonisation during the Eco-Business Unlocking Capital for Sustainability event. Here are the 3 key takeaways from his sharing: 1️⃣ Renewables Pivot: A shift to renewables is crucial for Asia’s energy transition. However, roadblocks like Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), still central to many countries’ transition plans, co-firing ammonia initiatives, and carbon capture technologies promoted in Japan’s Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) are diverting crucial funding away from this shift. The focus needs to stay on renewables to truly address the transition. 2️⃣ Collaboration for Progress: Achieving the right data standards and targets is challenging but possible. Cross-sector collaboration can accelerate this progress. 3️⃣ Grid Connectivity: Strong grid connectivity is vital to transition away from coal. ASEAN grid initiatives and cross-border energy trading can demonstrate the affordability, reliability, and ROI of renewables regionally. Thank you to Eco-Business for the invitation and to fellow speakers Lucita Jasmin, Melissa Moi, Mike Ng, and moderator Nirnita Talukdar for a great session! 💡 #EnergyTransition #SustainableFinance #Renewables #Decarbonisation #ASEAN #ClimateAction #Sustainability #SustainableInvestment #GridConnectivity #CleanEnergy

🚨 Exciting News for Sustainable Protein Development! 🚨   The Bezos Earth Fund has committed $30M to establish the Bezos Centre for Sustainable Protein at the National University of Singapore (NUS)! This is part of a regional and global effort to transform food systems, with Singapore at the forefront of sustainable alternative protein innovation.   Kate Blaszak, Protein Transition Director at ARE, shares: "This is incredibly positive news for Singapore and NUS, placing the region at the heart of sustainable protein research. This investment will and drive impactful innovations and contribute to the decarbonisation of Asia's protein supply."   Our research, Charting Asia’s Protein Transition, cited by The Good Food Institute APAC, highlights how alternative proteins must account for more than 50% of all protein production by 2060 to decarbonise Asia’s protein supply. This also emphasised the crucial need for industrial animal production to peak within six years to stay aligned with ambitious emissions-reduction goals.   🔗 Read GFI APAC’s full announcement here and learn more about our research: https://lnkd.in/ecbG49Mt   #SustainableProtein #AlternativeProteins #ClimateAction #BezosEarthFund #ProteinTransition #Decarbonisation #FoodSystems  

🌱 Keynote at Sheng Siong & DBS's Sustainability Masterclass Sheng Siong Group and DBS Bank invited our Protein Transition Research Manager, Dave Luo, as a knowledge partner to give a keynote speech at their Sustainability Masterclass. He shared insights on key sustainability areas, such as: 🌍🌳 Climate Change & Deforestation: Highlighting food emissions’ contribution to global emissions and how avoiding deforestation in supply chains is crucial to meet climate goals. 💊🐄 Antimicrobial Resistance & Animal Welfare: Emphasising the threat of excessive antibiotic use in livestock production and the role of improved animal welfare in reducing it. 🍽️🥗 Food Security & Diversification: Exploring how diversifying protein sources is essential for securing a sustainable food future. A big thank you to the organisers for the invitation and the opportunity to collaborate. For more on our Protein Transition team's work, visit our platform page here: https://lnkd.in/eztwjEFN #Sustainability #FoodSecurity #ClimateAction #Deforestation #AnimalWelfare #AntibioticResistance #ProteinTransition #SustainableFoodSystems #CarbonAccounting

We are hiring for a Research Analyst based in Delhi. Join our dynamic ARE team as we expand our sustainability outreach in India. If you thrive in a collaborative and intellectually curious organisation that is multi-cultural and impact driven, please send us your resume with cover letter to [email protected].

🌍 Our Energy Transition Director, Kurt Metzger, will be speaking at Eco-Business' flagship event on sustainable finance for the Asia Pacific, Unlocking Capital for Sustainability 2024!   Kurt will join an esteemed panel on Mobilising Finance at Speed and Scale to discuss the critical need for large-scale finance to support Asia’s sustainable and just transition. The panel will explore how public-private cooperation, interoperable data, and innovative financial instruments, including carbon markets, can accelerate the transition for the region's hard-to-abate sectors.   Looking forward to engaging with fellow speakers Mike Ng, Melissa Moi, Lucita Jasmin, and moderator Nirnita Talukdar.   📅 Register here: https://lnkd.in/ejgp-25A   #UCFS2024 #unlockingcapital #EBconversations #EnergyTransition #SustainableFinance #ClimateAction #Asia #Sustainability

🌱 Upcoming Event: ARE’s Climate Engagement Series – Catalysts for Change🌱 We're excited to announce the start of ARE’s Climate Engagement Series, Catalysts for Change, a series of investor-focused webinars addressing critical sustainable development issues in Asia. Kicking off the series, our Protein Transition experts, Kate Blaszak and Dave Luo, will be discussing the findings from our latest Asia Protein Buyers 100 Report. The report reviews public disclosure from 100 companies to evaluate their protein sourcing performance and sustainability efforts. 🗓️ Who Should Attend: Institutional investors interested in understanding how Asia's listed food buyers are transitioning to responsible and sustainable protein sourcing and help drive the shift toward a more sustainable food system. 📩 Registration: Open to investors. To register, please reach out to our Investor Engagement Manager, Tiffany Qin Ting, CFA, at [email protected]. #Sustainability #ProteinTransition #AsiaInvesting #ESG #ClimateAction #SustainableFinance #InvestorWebinar #ClimateEngagementSeries #SustainbleFoodSystems

🚀 New Report: Shifting Gears - Key Asian Banks Can Accelerate The Energy Transition ARE’s Energy Transition team just published their latest report, which assesses nine leading banks in Japan, Singapore, and South Korea on their approach to climate change and progress toward achieving net-zero emissions in their loan portfolios by 2050. Authored by Peter Kiernan, this report highlights the progress Asian banks are making towards decarbonisation and the crucial steps needed to fully align with a 1.5°C climate goal. 📊 Key Insights: 🔹 All reviewed banks have set emissions reduction targets for either all, or at least some, of the carbon-intensive sectors in their lending portfolio 🔹 Singapore banks have aligned sectoral emissions reduction targets with a 1.5°C scenario and have the most advanced policies on oil and gas financing. 🔹 Japanese and South Korean banks, however, have yet to set comprehensive and detailed targets for carbon-intensive sectors -- for both the medium and long-term – that are aligned with a 1.5°C scenario. 🔹 Mizuho and MUFG have the most advanced disclosure of client-level engagement to help clients manage energy transition risks. 🔹 Most banks have established board-level structures to manage climate issues, but still need to boost representation of board members with specific climate change policy expertise.   Our team dives into recommendations for climate-related policy, governance, and risk management strategies to help Asian banks accelerate the energy transition. 📖 Read the full report to learn more: https://lnkd.in/ey-eStMQ #EnergyTransition #SustainableFinance #ClimateAction #Banking #Asia #NetZero #ClimateRiskManagement #Decarbonisation #Sustainability #ESG