Thought Leadership
05 September 2023
Singapore studying the need to further expand its LNG infrastructure, Channel News Asia
Dr David Broadstock, SGFIN Senior Research Fellow and Energy Transition lead, appeared on CNA news commenting on the exploration of standards for carbon-accounted LNG trade in Singapore following the announcement made by H.E. Dr Tan See Leng, Minister for Manpower and Second Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore.
31 August 2023
The clamour for elusive climate grants, Eco-Business
Dr David Broadstock, SGFIN Senior Research Fellow and Energy Transition lead, contributes his thoughts into the use of grant financing to support energy transition investments for this article appearing on Eco-Business. The article is a part of the Eco-Business series on “Decoding Sustainable Finance ….”
16 August 2023
Breaks and reforms/reformulates, Bloomberg Businessweek
Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, shared her perspectives about various topics such as the pricing of carbon credits in Asian markets, the complexities of green bonds and the failure of SVB in this commentary..
18 July 2023
How I got here… National University of Singapore green finance academic Sumit Agarwal, Eco-Business
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN, delves into his transition from the corporate world to academia and how his initial passion for sustainability was reignited at NUS. He also comments on the criticism surrounding green finance and discusses how SGFIN aims to address these concerns and build expertise in the field.
7 July 2023
How will India's green credit scheme work?, Eco-Business
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN saw the importance of incentive-based scheme to drive positive environmental outcomes and become environmentally viable.
Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, shared how technological advancements in renewable energy solutions have ushered in new considerations in business financing models. She also highlighted proposed solutions by NUS students in the SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition 2023 to facilitate the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to transition into more sustainable business practices.
26 June 2023
Can the Asean Taxonomy Help Achieve the Region's Sustainability Ambitions?, Eco-Business
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN reckoned that the biggest benefit of a regional taxonomy is that it provides a common language for companies and investors to communicate sustainability performance. Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN added that the benefits of unification [of country-level taxonomies to create a regional framework] are numerous, such as reducing the compliance cost across different countries, faster speed of adoption and greater transparency.
29 May 2023
Charting a Green Transition for Small-and-Medium Enterprises, NUS BIZBEAT,
The university-wide SGFIN-Fidelity Sustainable Finance Case Competition 2023 was a meaningful journey for more than 150 participating students. Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, and Ms Vigilia Ang, Research Associate at SGFIN, summarised the key takeaways of the top three winning teams’ financially viable solutions and presented alternative solutions proposed by the other finalist teams for SMEs’ solar energy adoption towards sustainability.
29 April 2023
Carbon credits: catalyzing green finance, Bank of Singapore,
Assoc Prof Johan Sulaeman, Director of SGFIN, and Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, discussed the current and future scenario of carbon credits in Southeast Asia and shared SGFIN’s research initiatives with regard to carbon credits. Insights on voluntary carbon credits and views on the pricing of carbon credits were also explored.
5 April 2023
How to be environmental superheroes, NUS BIZBEAT
Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, highlighted two educational programmes that help to equip participants with the key sustainable investment concepts and relevant financial instruments for strategic planning and investments. The programmes are Lifelong Learning Module on "Social and Sustainable Investing" and the Msc Programme in Sustainable and Green Finance (MSGF).
31 March 2023
Investors need better ways to measure and integrate ESG outcomes, Top1000funds
Assoc Prof Zhang Weina, Deputy Director of SGFIN, shared key takeaways from her case study by focusing on how investors can make better investment decisions by incorporating impact preferences, social return and risk into conventional portfolio theory in four Asian developing countries.
20 March 2023
Commentary: Singapore will finally charge for plastic bags. What’s next?, Channel News Asia
Prof Sumit Agarwal, Managing Director of SGFIN reinforced the need for consumers to change their plastic bag habit besides the 5-cent charge for plastic bags. Besides waste reduction, factors contributing to the total carbon cost incurred in the life cycle of packaging materials were also discussed. The implementation of a carbon score card will potentially encourage consumers to adopt greener habits in more aspect of their lives. Merchants should continue to implement rewards for customers who choose to go green and live beyond the unsustainable convenience of plastic bags.
9 February 2023
Peaking Inflation, Rising Interest Rates: Can Singapore Households, Businesses and Banks Cope?, NUS BIZBEAT (edited version)