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Timothy Clark, Provost of Singapore Management University, giving the welcome address at the International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance, held at Marina Bay Sands from 26-28 June 2023.

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1. Welcome

Guest-of-Honour, Her Excellency Kateryna Zelenko, Ukrainian Ambassador to Singapore

Director of the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, Emily Farnworth

Distinguished guests

Good Evening

It is my great pleasure to welcome you to the Inaugural conference on ESG and climate governance.

 

2.1 About the collaboration and the Conference

This conference is a global collaboration between:

• the Centre for Climate Engagement and Climate Governance Initiative, based at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge, 
• and, Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics, with support from the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC).

Addressing climate issues requires strong collaboration between academia and industry and within these across disciplines and sectors. But forums facilitating such interactions are rare. It therefore is wonderful to note that the conference offers a unique opportunity whereby academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors gather here, at MBS to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world, by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice. At SMU we prioritise the translation of academic knowledge to address real-world issue.

 

2.2 About SKBI

Hosting this conference in Singapore is the Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics or SKBI for short. The institute sits within the Lee Kong Chian School of Business in Singapore Management University. It was established in 2008, so this year marks SKBI’s 15th Anniversary.

The institute was named after Mr Sim Kee Boon, a leading member of the founding generation of civil servants who, together with Singapore’s leaders, steered the nation through a period of turbulence and uncertainty to the success and stability Singapore enjoys today.

In his honour, the work that SKBI undertakes embodies the values Mr Sim stood for – SKBI is driven to help address the pressing needs of industry and society, using the best ideas available to improve society through high quality research, thought leadership and convene events to bring relevant communities together to focus on specific issues of salience.

You can read more about the remarkable like of Mr Sim in this biography, co-published by the institute last year. You should have received a copy of the book at the registration desk.

 

3.1 SKBI’s work on sustainability and climate change

When Professor Dave Fernandez first came onboard as SKBI’s director in 2018, he asked two questions.

• “What areas of economics and finance are most important to society today?”
• And, “What areas of economics & finance are today out of mainstream academic research?”

The answers to these two questions have formed the research pillars on which the institute currently focuses– one of which is Sustainability and Sustainable Finance.

This leads us to where we are today - Professor Fernandez’s idea of holding a global academic conference in Singapore to forward the corporate climate governance agenda.

 

3.2 SMU/SKBI as knowledge partner of CGS (CGI Singapore chapter)

Besides co-organising this global conference, the Sim Kee Boon Institute is also involved in championing the corporate climate governance work within Singapore. It is the knowledge partner of Climate Governance Singapore, the local chapter of the World Economic Forum’s Climate Governance Initiative.

As knowledge partner, SKBI has curated a knowledge hub, featuring:

• a curated library of research and pedagogic materials,
• in-person events,
• and, online training series to build a strong stakeholder network to better address the challenges of climate change.

As a side event to this main conference, Climate Governance Singapore will host a webinar on 28th June, at 3:30pm which will distil insights and share key takeaways from this conference to a wider audience.

 

3.3 SGFC’s work in sustainability

SKBI’s work in sustainability does not stop there.

In 2020, the institute answered the call from the Monetary Authority of Singapore to set up the Singapore Green Finance Centre, together with our partner, Imperial College Business School.

The centre conducts multi-disciplinary research and training to help develop strategies for policy makers and financial institutions to support Asia’s transition to a low carbon future. One outcome of this initiative is an asynchronous online course on “Climate Change Management”, taught by SMU Associate Professor of Urban Climate, Winston Chow.

Professor Chow researches and teaches on climate change impacts on cities, and was a lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)'s 6th Assessment Report on Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability on urban climate issues. He is also a member of the IPCC’s Task Group on Data Support for Climate Change Assessments.

 

4.1 Keynote speaker, SMU Prof Winston Chow

You will hear more from him later tonight as he will be giving the keynote address on the IPCC report.

4.2 Opening speaker Mr Loh Boon Chye’s involvement in the SKBI/SGFC board

Tomorrow, you will hear from CEO of the Singapore Stock Exchange, Mr LOH Boon Chye, on the state of ESG in Singapore. Mr Loh sits on the advisory board of both SKBI as its Chair.

4.3 Other SKBI Visiting Faculty & Staff involved

A number of the Sim Kee Boon Institute’s Visiting faculty will also be participating in this 3-day conference as speakers. They include Cintia Külzer Sacilotto & Christoph Nedopil.

Rajiv Lall, Sim Kee Boon Institute’s Professorial Research Fellow, and SKBI’s director, Professor Dave Fernandez will also be speaking and moderating panels.

5. Conclusion

In closing, I would like to thank the teams from the Sim Kee Boon Institute, the Centre for Climate Engagement and Climate Governance Initiative, who have been working tirelessly to bring together academics and industry experts from across the world to make this conference a reality.

It is very exciting to be a part of this inaugural conference, and I look forward to the conference outputs which I am sure will set the stage for further progress in how board directors tackle climate change issues.

And with that, I wish all of you an enjoyable and productive time during the conference. I very much hope it will lead to new insights, discussions and connections that will impact significantly on the Climate Governance space globally.

Thank you and have a wonderful evening.

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About the International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance

The inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance brings together academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice. Read the conference press release here.

 

About Timothy Clark

Prior to becoming Provost of SMU, Timothy Clark was Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Social Sciences and Health) at Durham University, United Kingdom, where he was also Executive Lead for Computer and Information Services (CIS) and Estates and Buildings. Professor Clark is a past Chair (2009) and President (2011) of the British Academy of Management and a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences and the British Academy of Management. Professor Clark was an Editor/General Editor of Journal of Management Studies (2000-2010). His research focuses on understanding the role and nature of management consultants and management gurus in the diffusion of management knowledge. In recent years, he has conducted a series of research projects into different aspects of the management consultancy industry, including the factors underpinning the selection and purchase of consultancy and the management of the client-consultant relationship.

 

L-R: Winston Chow (SMU), Timothy Clark (SMU), H.E Kateryna Zelenko (Embassy of Ukraine), Emily Farnworth (University of Cambridge), Hong Zhang (SMU), Dave Fernandez (SMU, SKBI).

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Ladies and gentlemen,

Distinguished guests,

It is my privilege and honour to introduce our guest of honor and keynote speaker, Her Excellency, Kateryna Zelenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Singapore.

Ambassador Zelenko is a career diplomat, having joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in 2002.

She had postings representing Ukraine in Austria and Germany, before returning to Kyiv in 2018, working in the Ministry’s Political Department, and becoming the MFA’s Chief Spokesperson shortly thereafter. Ambassador Zelenko was appointed as Ukraine’s highest representative to Singapore by President Volodymyr Zelensky in November 2020.

For 488 days now Ukraine has been spearheading a brave fight against Russia’s unprovoked aggression. This is the fight not only for democracy, but also for what humanity’s future must look like. A military aggression is an expression of ultimate disdain for standards of good international governance. This puts the war in Ukraine into the forefront of ESG debates.

At some point - we all hope soon - but it depends on multitude of factors - the war will also be over and Ukraine’s reconstruction will begin. It will require a massive effort but it will also generate massive opportunities.

Just a few days ago, Ukraine’s Recovery Conference, jointly sponsored by Ukraine and the United Kingdom, took place in London. This conference brought together public and private sector decision makers from a multitude of countries and highlighted Ukraine’s commitment to build back a more modern, innovative, and green economy.

Given Singapore’s role as the global sustainability leader, we hope that our inaugural conference will serve as a stepping stone to closer corporation between Ukraine and Singapore in the fields of ESG and climate action.

Madam Ambassador, over to you.

 

[Read the Ambassador's Guest-of-Honour Keynote speech here]

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About the International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance

The inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance brings together academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice. Read the conference press release here.

 

About Dave Fernandez

Dave Fernandez is the Director of the Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) for Financial Economics and Professor of the Practice of Finance at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business at Singapore Management University (SMU). He is also the Co-Director of the Singapore Green Finance Centre. Outside of SMU, he sits on the Advisory Panel at the ASEAN+3 Macroeconomic Research Office, Academic Council at the Impact Economy Foundation and is a member of the Stewardship Discussion Circle at Stewardship Asia. Prior to returning to academia in 2018, Prof Dave worked as an economist in the private sector at Barclays and J.P. Morgan. He started his career in the public sector, serving as an economist in the administration of President George H.W. Bush and at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

H.E. Kateryna Zelenko, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Singapore,  giving the Guest-of-Honour Keynote at the International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance, held at Marina Bay Sands from 26-28 June 2023.

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Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

i'm honored to have an opportunity to address such a distinguished audience of the inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance. Many thanks to SMU and Cambridge University for such a timely chance to share Ukraine’s insights.

We in Ukraine believe that mitigation of climate change is a matter of equal importance worldwide, be it Asia Pacific, or Europe, or any other part of the world. It addresses urgent challenges that have no geographic boundaries and raise similar concerns that cannot be met locally. It might sound surprising, but, according to some forecasts, by the year 2100 in Ukraine, despite its mostly inland location, almost 600 settlements could be affected by the rise of the sea level and about a million of hectares of land, including arable land plots, could go forever beneath the water. So, as you can see, there is no safe haven to sit this storm out, and there is a clear understanding that our joint effort is needed to calm it down.

Therefore, Ukraine has decisively become an active participant of global action on mitigating climate change. We declared carbon neutrality as Ukraine’s long-term goal. In 2021 Ukraine committed itself to cutting its greenhouse emissions by 2030 by 65% from the level of 1990. Despite the war, the Ukrainian Government keeps on implementing economy’s eco-modernization and green transition. We remain committed to our national determined contributions under the Paris Agreement as well as obligations under the EU Association Agreement’s provisions on reducing carbon footprint. Living up to the European Green Deal goes hand in hand with Ukraine’s EU membership aspirations.

Our pre-2022 strategy was based merely on balancing ecological and economic development. Solar panels, windmills and hydro-powerplants, eco-farms and metallurgical eco-plants were becoming increasingly a commonplace.

Russia’s full-scale military invasion of Ukraine has led to new threats. It is similar to a global earthquake that has not only shaken the rules-based international order, but has also accelerated climate change, exacerbated food crisis and provoked more severe consequences that are likely to be felt over the time far beyond Ukraine’s borders.

The environmental damage to Ukraine from Russia’s war has been estimated at 46 billion USD. More than 2,300 instances of environmental damage caused by the fighting were recorded. Almost 500,000 hectares, including 10 national natural parks, 8 reserves, 2 biosphere reserves, remain under Russia’s occupation.

Today, Ukraine is one of the most mined countries in the world: about 30% of Ukraine's territory remain dangerous because of enemy mines and exposive debrises. Since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, we detected >600,000 explosive items.

The largest in scale crime of ecocide is the detonation of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant on 6 June 2023. With no exagguration, it has the power of the environmental weapon of mass destruction, which long-lasting impact will be affecting at least the wider Black Sea region and, with high probability, even some remoted areas.

Over 3,000 houses were flooded. More than 3,700 people, including almost 500 children, have been evacuated from the disaster area there. 18 people have died (some of them were shot by Russian military during the evacuation) many went missing. Hundreds of thousands of citizens remain without or with a very limited water supply. Moscow declined the UN request to deliver humanitarian aid to the people affected there.

Let alone the ecosystems destroyed or pushed to the brink of extinction. The fuel storage facilities, warehouses with chemicals and fertilizers, animal burial grounds were flooded. Sewage got into the water. Thousands of species died, including animals of Zoo in the occupied town Nova Kakhovka, whom Russian military banned to evacuate.

Due to damage caused by this man-made ecological disaster vast agricultural areas in southern regions of our country will not be arable until the dam is reconstructed. It will lead to worsening of the food crisis in vulnerable areas of Africa, Middle East and Asia.

Naturally, sustainable development is impossible without sustainable peace.

Hence it is sad, that while focusing on the critical environment challenges, global warming, food security, supply chains, the world is forced to discuss a possible scenario of a nuclear desaster at the currently mined Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant that is under Russia’s temporary control. Needless to say, its consequences would be global. Joint and robust international action is required to avert the catastrophe.

Undoubtedly, the most effective response to these threats is the end of the war. Meanwhile the liberation of Ukraine’s territory continues, new initiatives are already being introduced by Ukraine’s partners, whose support we highly appreciate.

Despite Europe's pre-war high dependence on energy imports, our European partners did not give in to Putin's gas blackmail. They found alternatives to fill in the shortage of energy resources along with development of renewable energy, energy saving and energy efficiency.

Ukrainians, of course, do not stand aside of this process.

Within the first days of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine synchronized itself with EU’s ENTSO-E system. The move had been a part of a longer-term plan, but the war impelled us to move at a much faster pace, before the relevant level of energy efficiency was achieved by our country. Hence, eco-modernization was raised to priority for the Government and society.

In addition, 33 massive missile attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector that resulted in the blackouts from October 2022 to March 2023 contributed to re-assessment of urgency of ensuring energy efficiency as well as a role that every citizen and every business are able to play in meeting the challenge. Here is a space for civil sector and donors to step in.

For example, one such project called “100 Solar Schools” is implemented by the NGO “Energy Act for Ukraine”, which has been launched after the start of full-scale invasion in order to provide civilians with assistance in surviving electricity cuts. Its goal is to equip with solar panels 100 schools and 50 hospitals in the regions affected by the war to ensure their “energy independence”. The first in turn was the school No.17 located in the town Irpin to the North-East from Kyiv, which has suffered a lot during the Russian occupation of March 2022. Just imagine, the school building was shelled roughly 30 times and 5 times severely damaged by the Russian artillery. Now it will become more than just an energy self-sustainable education facility, it will be a kind of “sustainability center” for local community, considering the continuous missile attacks on Ukrainian civil residential areas and critical infrastructure.

As Francis of Assisi once said: start by doing what`s necessary, then do what`s possible, and suddenly you are doing the impossible. It might sound applicable to mitigating climate change in many parts of the world. But for Ukraine it sounds like a plan: a plan of achieving peace, a plan of recovery, a plan of survival.

ESG is not only about nature, its firstly and foremostly about people. I’m sure that the potential of humanity is extremely high, and in this I see an extraordinary perspective for making a difference and transforming the world into a more secure place for generations to come.

Thank you.

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About the International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance

The inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance brings together academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice. View the conference page here. 

 

About H.E Kateryna Zelenko

Her Excellency Ambassador Kateryna Zelenko is a career diplomat. Prior to her accreditation to Singapore, she served as the Spokesperson of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and Deputy Director of the Communications and Public Diplomacy Department. Ambassador Zelenko joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine in 2002. Her postings abroad include Ukrainian Embassy in the Republic of Austria and Permanent Mission of Ukraine to the International Organisations in Vienna, later, from 2007 to 2011 and from 2014 to 2018 – Embassy of Ukraine in the Federal Republic of Germany, where she was covering culture, press and public diplomacy issues. In 2018 she returned to Kyiv to work in the Political Department of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry. Her appointment as Ukraine’s MFA Chief Spokesperson followed shortly thereafter. Kateryna Zelenko obtained her Master in International Relations and Foreign Policy at the Institute of International Relations of Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (Ukraine).

 

 

The conference is a global collaboration between the Centre for Climate Engagement and Climate Governance Initiative, based at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge and Singapore Management University (SMU)’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics with support from the Singapore Green Finance Centre (SGFC).

It brings together academic experts, practitioners, and board directors from six continents, across disciplines and industry sectors to address theoretical and practical challenges to climate action across the world by drawing on academic expertise to develop impactful solutions which can be put to practice. 

Conference sessions will include keynotes from Loh Boon Chye, CEO of the Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Professor Winston Chow, Associate Professor of Urban Climate and Lee Kong Chian Research Fellow at SMU on topics to include corporate governance, leadership, green finance, regulatory frameworks, corporate law and the challenges and obstacles to climate action in the boardroom. 

Both the Centre for Climate Engagement and Sim Kee Boon Institute specialise in bridging the academic and practitioner communities in their respective disciplines – In doing so, the Centre for Climate Engagement accelerates climate leadership on corporate boards, with a particular focus on corporate governance and corporate law. It reaches a wide audience of non-executive board directors at a global level through its coordination of the Climate Governance Initiative, an international network of board directors committed to making climate a boardroom priority. SMU’s Sim Kee Boon Institute, on the other hand, conducts applied financial economic research driven by industry and societal needs through multidisciplinary collaborations involving research talent from around the world as well as industry and public-sector partners. The Institute will be hosting this conference over three days at Marina Bay Sands. 

“We are incredibly excited to collaborate with Singapore Management University on the inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance. We believe that using a multi-disciplinary approach will help advance the global dialogue on the critical issue of driving corporate climate action” said Emily Farnworth, Director, Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge and Head of Secretariat, Climate Governance Initiative.

Professor Dave Fernandez, Director of Singapore Management University’s Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics and Co-Director of the Singapore Green Finance Centre, who championed the idea of holding a global academic conference in Singapore to forward the corporate climate governance agenda, said: “Sustainability is a relatively new topic which is gaining traction as a result of the climate crisis. This topic is not going to go away, and we must as a society keep up with the changing times. This is why we have made Sustainable Finance one of the core areas of focus at our institute.” 

He continues: “We look forward to hosting this inaugural International Conference on ESG and Climate Governance which gives leading academics, non-executive directors and practitioners from sustainability and related fields a platform to discuss new ideas and learn from one another.”

A side-event discussing the key actions from the conference will follow the invitation-only conference, hosted by Climate Governance Singapore, for which SMU is a knowledge partner. This livestreamed session, which will be open to the public, will see academics and practitioners discussing key takeaways for board directors driving climate action. The livestream will take place at 15:30-17:00 SGT on 28 June 2023. Registration for this webinar is available now by clicking here. 

The principal outcomes from the conference will be shared with the Climate Governance Initiative’s global network, providing insight into the key discussion points and questions to directors can take to the boardroom.

 

View the conference page here. 

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ABOUT THE PARTNERS

Singapore Management University
Singapore Management University (SMU) is internationally recognised for its world-class research and distinguished teaching. Established in 2000, SMU’s mission is to generate leading-edge research with global impact and to produce broad-based, creative, and entrepreneurial leaders for the knowledge-based economy. SMU’s education is known for its highly interactive, collaborative, and project-based approach to learning

Sim Kee Boon Institute for Financial Economics
Sim Kee Boon Institute (SKBI) for Financial Economics at SMU has the mandate to conduct applied financial research which is driven by industry and societal needs.  Over the last 15 years, a diverse portfolio of financial research, outreach and training initiatives has been built. Today, the Institute is expanding beyond traditional finance and economics fields, and focuses its efforts on the areas of financial inclusion and education, sustainable finance, financial technology. To maintain our relevance to finance practitioners and policy-makers, SKBI also adopts a view on Asian and global economic trends.

Centre for Climate Engagement
The Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, University of Cambridge plays a unique role in bringing leading academic research to a targeted non-executive director audience in a format that enables change. Established to rectify the lack of engagement in climate change mitigation in the corporate community, particularly boards and to support cutting edge research in climate law, governance, disclosure and organisational change, the priority areas for boards driving climate action. The Centre also provides the Secretariat for the Climate Governance Initiative.

Climate Governance Initiative 
The Climate Governance Initiative in collaboration with the World Economic Forum, provides a platform for non-executive and independent directors to engage and understand how their role in the boardroom can accelerate corporate climate action. With networks of board directors in over 50 countries globally, and links to worldwide academic institutions the Initiative equips boards with the knowledge and skills to take climate action in the boardroom