The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) today announced the establishment of a Sustainable Finance Advisory Panel (SFAP) to help guide MAS on its strategies and initiatives to build a credible and vibrant sustainable finance ecosystem.
2. The SFAP comprises a diverse group of senior sustainability experts from financial institutions, academia, and other stakeholders from across the world, reflecting the multi-disciplinary nature of the sustainability agenda. The membership of the SFAP can be found in Annex A.
3. At the inaugural SFAP meeting today with the MAS management, the discussion focused on the challenges around transition finance and the role of financial institutions, corporates, regulators and governments in achieving an orderly and inclusive transition in the region. Key issues discussed pertinent to financial institutions include:
ensuring an inclusive transition to net zero, such as by considering the impact of climate financing decisions on jobs and livelihoods;
setting interim targets and referencing sectoral pathways by financial institutions to ensure credible and transparent transition plans;
identifying incentive structures to promote data sharing and developing FinTech solutions for ESG data; and
scaling up blended finance for projects that may not be as commercially attractive or have a high-risk profile.
4. Mr Ravi Menon, Managing Director, MAS, said, “We had a rich and insightful discussion with the SFAP. We discussed the various issues pertinent to the net zero transition – climate science, sectoral pathways, the nuts and bolts of transition financing, and the importance of adaptation finance in a world that has already begun to experience climate change. The discussion will help to further sharpen MAS’ sustainable finance strategies and initiatives.”
5. The next SFAP meeting will be held in 2023.
