Temasek-owned investment platform company GenZero will hold its inaugural GenZero Climate Summit on June 7 and 8. The summit will be held in conjunction with Temasek’s annual flagship sustainability event, Ecosperity Week, which will run from June 6 to 8 this year.
The summit will also mark GenZero’s first anniversary since its launch in June 2022, when Temasek committed an initial amount of $5 billion into the subsidiary. GenZero revealed on May 31 that it has committed more than $700 million in investments and has grown its team to more than 30 sustainability professionals since its launch in June 2022.
With the theme of “Navigating climate crossroads”, the inaugural event will discuss how climate investors balance different considerations and deploy capital more effectively to accelerate decarbonisation solutions, deliver climate impact and achieve sustainable returns.
Notable speakers at the GenZero Climate Summit include David Antonioli, CEO of Verra; Dirk Forrister, CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA); Jacqueline Poh, managing director of the Singapore Economic Development Board; Rodi Guidero, executive director and managing partner of Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Renat Heuberger, CEO of South Pole; and Hannah Jones, CEO of The Earthshot Prize, among others.
Frederick Teo, chief executive officer of GenZero, says: “We need to urgently identify more promising technology and nature-based solutions with the potential to deliver climate impact at scale. A credible, efficient carbon market will help bridge the US$5 trillion ($6.77 trillion) needed annually to keep global warming below 1.5°C. The GenZero Climate Summit provides a forum for fellow investors and industry partners to discuss how to navigate these ‘climate crossroads’ and share perspectives on the actions we can take to accelerate our transition to a net-zero world.”
Teo tells The Edge Singapore that GenZero will continue to hold the summit annually. “This is also about tapping into the broader network of contacts and activity around Ecosperity [Week]... The fact that we are actually part of a broader ecosystem confers a lot more synergy and advantages.”
See also: Are carbon credits credible?
Sunny Verghese, CEO of Olam International and chairman of GenZero, will deliver the summit’s welcome address on June 7, while Verra CEO Antonioli will give the opening keynote on the following day.
Antonioli announced last week that he will resign from his post at the world’s largest carbon credit certifier, four months after British daily The Guardian published an exposé alleging that the company developed inaccurate methodology and overstated emissions reductions.
See also: Verra CEO resigns after 15 years, president appointed in February set to take over
Verra president Judith Simon will serve as Interim CEO from June 16, and Antonioli will stay on as a senior adviser to Verra’s Board of Directors to help advise the transition. Verra carved out the president role in February, while announcing “a major effort to improve its operations”.
Less than a fortnight after The Guardian published its story on Verra, Dutch investigative journalism publication Follow The Money (FTM) ran its own takedown of Swiss carbon finance consultancy South Pole.
In February 2022, South Pole announced that Temasek had taken a minority stake “via its carbon solutions platform”. This was later revealed to be GenZero. South Pole’s CEO, Heuberger, is scheduled to speak on a panel with GenZero’s Teo in a panel on June 8.
Photos: Albert Chua/The Edge Singapore
