Decision Makers Shared Viable Pathways Towards Climate Action and Biodiversity Conservation at the WWF Earth Hour Summit 2024

• Harnessing the theme of Navigating the Dual Challenges of Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss, Guest-of-Honour Minister Grace Fu emphasised the crucial role of annual transparency reporting to uphold accountability within the global community
  
• WWF-Singapore releases two new reports around the Summit to guide industry action: ‘WWF’s seventh Sustainable Banking Assessment (SUSBA) report’ reveals a growing need for financial institutions to focus on nature-positive activities; and ‘‘WWF’s 2024 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard’’ emphasises the need for transparency within the palm oil industry to address deforestation and other sustainability challenges.

Singapore, 9 May 2024 – The WWF-Singapore’s (World Wide Fund for Nature Singapore) Earth Hour Summit 2024 concluded on Friday, 19th April 2024, bringing together over 500 influential leaders, CEOs, and decision-makers to explore the critical intersection between nature conservation and climate action. The pivotal event featured compelling keynote speeches and panel discussions addressing science-policy-practice topics, including:

1. Are we on track to achieve one-third of carbon abatement targets by Nature-based Solutions?
2. Corporate Ambition in Asia – Enhancing bottom lines through environmental action;
3. Navigating the complexities of transition finance in Asia;
4. Collaborating across Supply Chains – Strategies for emission reduction. 

Addressing the attendees through a panel discussion focused on Corporate ambition in Asia – Enhancing bottom lines through environmental action, Minister Grace Fu expressed optimism about the implementation of transparency reporting as a significant milestone in climate advocacy, especially in Singapore and the region. Minister Grace Fu highlighted the importance of integrating adaptation alongside mitigation efforts alongside Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), further citing Singapore’s water security strategy as an example. Additionally, she also emphasised the need for collective goals and industry pathways to drive alignment and investment in low-energy strategies and emerging technologies. 

WWF-Singapore’s CEO, Vivek Kumar, said, “In a world where over 3.3 billion people live in places that are highly vulnerable to climate change, studies show that nature-based solutions could reduce the intensity of climate and weather-related hazards by 26 per cent. Evidence-based approaches shared at the Summit can guide our actions in addressing the dual and interlinked challenges of climate crisis and rapid loss of biodiversity. 

We also hope that the industry would take full advantage of our newly released reports to take  immediate & collaborative steps to address the challenges facing our present and future generations.”

In the first keynote panel exploring the importance of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) in reducing carbon emissions, keynote panellist Mr Ng Boon Heong, Executive Director and CEO of Temasek Foundation, underscored the intricate interplay between climate, nature, and people. The discussion centred on the crucial role of philanthropic organisations to deploy catalytic capital to look for NbS solutions that are “black diamonds” and “impact unicorns”. He shared that achieving scalable impact requires a sustained, multi-year effort involving collaboration among multiple partners towards the green transition.

Mr Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director at Epson Southeast Asia and one of the keynote speakers at the Summit, reiterated the company’s dedication, as highlighted in their collaboration with WWF-Singapore and Earth Hour, to not only becoming carbon-negative through investment in environmental technologies but also fostering forest landscape restoration, marine conservation, and energy-saving projects.

WWF’s newly released reports

When examining the necessity for transparency reporting, WWF’s 2024 Palm Oil Buyers Scorecard Report sheds light on the progress and challenges of disclosure within the palm oil industry. This year’s scorecard approached 285 companies, including major retailers, consumer goods manufacturers, feed, and biofuel companies, of which 55% declined to respond. Additionally, 91% of respondents have committed to sourcing 100% certified sustainable palm oil, but 24% have set post-2023 implementation targets, and 13% lack specific timeframes. This data emphasises the critical role of increased transparency in providing vital information about companies’ sustainability commitments and progress. Differences in commitment levels highlight how transparency enables comparisons and benchmarking across markets, facilitating targeted efforts to improve sustainability practices globally.

Insights from WWF’s seventh Sustainable Banking Assessment (SUSBA) report indicated a growing need for financial institutions to focus on incorporating nature into financial assessments. This transformation broadens the focus of sustainability beyond climate considerations to encompass nature and biodiversity, reframing nature’s perception from a mere cost to an investment opportunity. Nature-related risks may have a tipping point tendency, potentially leading to irreversible environmental damage resulting in micro and macro instability. Banks that have been early in addressing climate change have gained and continued to maintain a competitive edge, benefiting from reduced costs of implementation and greater access to capital tied to sustainability. With NbS slated as one of the top 5 most effective strategies for mitigating carbon emissions by 2030, the report urges investors to take immediate action by adopting more sophisticated biodiversity assessments and strategies to mitigate nature impacts. 

Refer to Annexes for background information on the WWF Earth Hour Summit. 

For more information, please contact:

About Earth Hour
Earth Hour is WWF’s flagship global environmental movement. Born in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to become one of the world’s largest grassroots movements for the environment, inspiring individuals, communities, businesses and organisations in more than 180 countries and territories to take tangible environmental action for over a decade. Historically, Earth Hour has focused on the climate crisis, but more recently, Earth Hour has strived to also bring the pressing issue of nature loss to the fore. The aim is to create an unstoppable movement for nature, as it did when the world came together to tackle climate change. The movement recognises the role of individuals in creating solutions to the planet’s most pressing environmental challenges and harnesses the collective power of its millions of supporters to drive change.

About WWF-Singapore
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) is one of the world’s largest and most respected independent conservation organisations. WWF’s mission is to stop the degradation of the earth’s natural environment and to build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. As one of WWF’s international hubs, WWF-Singapore supports a global network spanning over 100 countries.

WWF-Singapore works closely with local stakeholders towards a greener and more sustainable Singapore and the region around us. We work to address key conservation areas, such as deforestation, illegal wildlife trade, oceans, food security, sustainable finance and sustainable consumption through education and outreach efforts with individuals, businesses and governments. For more information, please visit wwf.sg.

Annex A 
Earth Hour Summit 2024 
Earth Hour Summit 2024 was organised by WWF-Singapore and the venue was sponsored by Marina Bay Sands Singapore. Watsons Singapore and Samsonite Singapore were the leading partners of the event. The supporting partner was Wing Tai Asia Retail and strategic partner was EuroCham Singapore.

Annex B
Guest of Honour & Keynote Panellist: 

• Minister Grace Fu, Minister for Sustainability and The Environment, Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations, Republic of Singapore 

Speakers: 

• Ms Helen Wong, Chief Executive Officer, OCBC Group
• Ms Jacqueline Poh, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board
• Mr Ng Boon Heong, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer, Temasek Foundation
• H.E. Ms Iwona Piórko, Ambassador of the European Union Delegation to Singapore
• Ms Guo Yiran, Director (Policy), National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS)
• Mr Vivek Pathak, Regional Chief Risk Officer, Asia-Pacific, International Finance Corporation
• Mr Eric Foo, President, Asia-Pacific, Subway
• Mr Chris Ong, Managing Director, DHL Express Singapore
• Mr Enric Casals, Regional Vice President, Southeast Asia, Agoda
• Mr Paul Town, Chief Operating Officer, Marina Bay Sands
• Mr Siew Jin Kiat, Regional Managing Director, Epson Southeast Asia
• Mr Richie Mehta, International Emmy Award-winning Filmmaker
• Mr Kelvin Tan, Head of Sustainable Finance and Investments, ASEAN, HSBC
• Ms Pamela Lee, Deputy Chief Sustainability Officer, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS)
• Ms Maya Hari, Chief Executive Officer, Terrascope
• Mr Gerald Ng, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs & Sustainability, Changi Airport Group
• Professor Veera Sekaran, Head, Regenerative Agritech Centre, National University of Singapore
• Mr Vivek Kumar, Chief Executive Officer, WWF-Singapore
• Mr Rohit Singh, Director of Protected and Conserved Area Governance and Management, WWF
• Mr Kamal Seth, Director, Climate and Sustainability, WWF-Singapore
• Ms Stephanie Lim, Head, Market Transformation, WWF-Singapore
• Mr Akshat Garg, Assistant Vice President, Asia Sustainable Finance, WWF-Singapore

Annex C
Special thanks to:

International Partner: Epson
Print and Outreach Partner: Epson Southeast Asia

Venue Partner: Marina Bay Sands Singapore
Lead Partners: 

• Watsons Singapore 
• Samsonite Singapore

Supporting Partner: 

• Wing Tai Retail

Strategic Partner: 

• EuroCham Singapore

Supporting Associations: 

• AmCham Singapore 
• CMO Council
• Singapore National Employees Federation (SNEF)
• The Marketing Society
• Singapore International Chamber of Commerce (SICC)
• Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA)
• Singapore Fostering Entrepreneurship