Coinciding with the closing of COP26, green financing, ESG and impact investing were key themes that ran through many of the sessions on Day 3 of the Singapore FinTech Festival.  It is clear that as demand for green finance, ESG and impact investing continues to grow, it will be necessary for financial services in the future to integrate ESG and sustainability into the core design of financial services.

Some of our key takeaways from the experts:

Data is critical in solving the climate crisis.  Data will assist to determine the baseline metrics and data will enable the ability to measure progress and verify the achievement of green and climate goals.  However it is imperative that there is trust in the data and the key to trust is transparency and sharing how the relevant data was collected, how the data was processed and what methodologies were used.  Measurement, trust and accountability are crucial to attracting more investment in the green financing space.

There is a need to harmonise and simplify the definitions, measurements and reporting used in relation to green, ESG and impact investing (taxonomies) so there is less confusion and more clarity as everyone is speaking the same language.  This will be key to enhancing credibility and building trust among investors.

Digitisation and leveraging technology including AI, IoT and blockchain will be fundamental to effectively scaling the efforts to decarbonise and to measure and verify the impact of climate action.  However, the technology needed to adequately address the climate crisis does not yet exist and investment is required to fund the acceleration of R&D and start-up companies that are focused on these climate issues.

Continue reading: Day 4 – Themes of the Singapore FinTech Festival