Speech by 2M Indranee Rajah at the Sustainable and Green Finance Institute (SGFIN) Sustainability Summit 2026

Introduction

It is my pleasure to be here at the Sustainability Summit 2026, organised by the NUS Sustainable and Green Finance Institute, or SGFIN.

Let me begin with a stark reality: in 2025 alone, extreme weather events such as floods and typhoons, exacerbated by climate change, caused over US$70 billion in economic losses across Asia-Pacific. These mounting losses underscore the urgent reality of climate change and how it affects our economies, our communities and our institutional finance systems.

2026 has been designated the Year of Climate Adaptation, as announced by Minister for Sustainability and Environment Ms Grace Fu last week. It is a critical year for translating our climate commitments into tangible actions as we develop Singapore's first National Adaptation Plan covering key domains such as heat resilience, coastal & flood resilience, and water & food resilience.

Importance of Natural Capital

Natural capital represents the stock of natural assets-our nature reserves, parks, reservoirs, waterways and biodiversity-that we have carefully integrated into our urban development to derive essential services such as clean water, flood protection, climate regulation and recreation.

For over six decades, Singapore has intentionally woven nature into our urban fabric, such as planting trees and shrubs along the roads, creating park connectors, and incorporating greenery into our buildings.

Our transformation from a developing nation to a Garden City, and more recently to a City in Nature, has delivered tangible environmental, social and economic benefits.

It has helped moderate urban temperatures and provide natural flood management that protects our infrastructure.

It has also provided an attractive environment that support Singapore's position as a regional business hub and distinguishes us as a distinctive global city.

Across the Asia-Pacific region, a 2021 study by Temasek in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and AlphaBeta estimated that shifting towards sustainable use of natural resources and nature-based solutions could unlock US$4.3 trillion in business opportunities and 232 million jobs by 2030. This demonstrates how sustainable development that integrates natural capital can drive economic prosperity.

Climate Risks and Changing Global Winds

However, our natural capital is under severe stress from accelerating climate change.

2024 was the warmest year on record and yet, it may also be the coolest year our future generation will ever experience in the coming decades. Current trajectories by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) point to almost 3°C warming by 2100, if our global climate change efforts do not strengthen.

Along with rising temperatures, we are seeing more extreme weather patterns, increasing rainfall and rising sea levels, raising risks of in-land and coastal flooding.

Climate risks are increasingly material financially too - beyond the immediate financial and property losses from extreme weather events, they cascade through our economy in multiple ways.

For instance, as Singapore imports more than 90% of our food supply, we are vulnerable to external shocks and supply chain disruptions, which may arise from climate-related disruptions.

Extreme weather events may also damage critical infrastructure and disrupt port operations.

In response, financial markets are factoring climate and nature risks into their economic valuations. From insurance premiums reflecting flood risks, to lending rates incorporating vulnerability assessments, markets are rewarding climate resilience and penalising exposure to climate risks.

Given the global uncertainty, Singapore must act now to strengthen our climate resilience and redouble our efforts in sustainable development.

Supporting Singapore's National Climate Goals

The Government advances Singapore's national climate goals through a comprehensive suite of measures that includes grants, sustainability standards, and financing mechanisms.

Our approach to sustainable development is guided by the five pillars of the Singapore Green Plan 2030 - City in Nature, Sustainable Living, Energy Reset, Green Economy and Resilient Future. Our efforts under the Green Plan include:

Integrating and enhancing our natural capital within urban development through initiatives like the OneMillionTrees movement, with over 830,000 trees planted thus far, and developing over 150 hectares of new parks alongside over 250 hectares of skyrise greenery;

Reducing our carbon footprint to meet our nationally determined contributions of around 60 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent by 2030 after peaking emissions earlier. This can be done via solar energy deployment and building decarbonisation; and

Preparing for a resilient future through coastal protection measures such as the 'Long Island', and enhancing our heat resilience to address rising heat risks.

We are catalysing sustainable development through targeted grants.

NParks' Skyrise Incentive Scheme covers up to 50% of installation costs for rooftop and vertical greenery on existing buildings, with a cap of $200 and $500 per square metre respectively, while URA's Landscaping for Urban Spaces and High-Rises (LUSH) programme encourages greenery provision within development projects through guidelines and incentives.

For existing buildings, the Green Mark Incentive Scheme for Existing Buildings 2.0 supports green retrofitting, complemented by the Energy Efficiency Grant that co-funds investments in efficient equipment.

We also want to incentivise sustainable practices for businesses.

Singapore was the first country in Southeast Asia to implement a carbon tax in 2019, providing a clear price signal to steer businesses and consumers towards low-carbon choices.

We are progressively raising the carbon tax, which increased from S$25 per tonne to S$45 per tonne in 2026, with a view to reaching S$50 - 80 per tonne by 2030.

Beyond carbon pricing, we drive and support transparency and accountability through mandatory sustainability disclosures.

The Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA) and the Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) have taken a climate-first, phased approach to mandatory climate-related disclosures, starting with larger listed companies.

To support companies in developing climate reporting capabilities, we introduced the Sustainability Reporting Grant (SRG) by EDB and EnterpriseSG, which provides funding support for Singapore companies preparing their first sustainability report.

We are setting high standards for sustainable finance.

Our Singapore Green Bond Framework, published in 2022 and updated in 2025, establishes rigorous standards for our sovereign green bond issuances and serves as a useful reference for our Statutory Boards' green bond issuances.

We are on track to meeting our target of issuing S$35 billion in public sector green bonds by 2030, with more than S$25 billion issued so far to finance infrastructure projects that advance sustainable development.

HDB's Green Finance Framework was also launched in 2022 and updated in 2025. As of 31 March 2025, HDB has issued S$8.5 billion in green bonds, which has been fully allocated to finance eligible green projects that are planned to achieve the prevailing BCA Green Mark certification. These projects are expected to generate significant environmental benefits, including an estimated 19.5 million kg of CO₂ emissions avoided annually from completed projects with sustainability assessments.

We have also launched the Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P) in 2023.

It is a Singapore-led blended finance initiative that aims to mobilise up to US$5 billion in collaboration with global public, private, and philanthropic sector partners to de-risk and finance green and transition projects in Asia.

As of last year, FAST-P's Green Investments Partnership (GIP) has raised US$510 million to fund green and sustainable infrastructure in Southeast and South Asia. To date, GIP has committed 25% of the funds to four investments covering projects that are expected to collectively reduce more than one million tonnes of emissions annually.

Climate resilience requires collective action beyond our borders.

Singapore has developed the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy to provide science-based criteria for what constitutes green and transition activities in Singapore and the region. Providing clarity on what are green or transition activities across sectors is very useful guidance.

It helps corporates design and implement transition plans, and crucially, provides confidence to capital providers in financing such activities across the region.

Unlocking Opportunities in Sustainable Finance

The integration of physical climate risks and sustainable development into financial decision-making has created opportunities across Singapore's financial and professional services ecosystem.

Legal firms, accountants, and consultants are increasingly called upon to navigate sustainability regulations, ensure robust climate data reporting, and advise on green financing structures. This represents growth opportunities for firms to develop specialised expertise in sustainable development and climate risk assessment.

It is therefore important that Singapore has a skilled workforce capable of evaluating and financing natural capital investments to achieve our climate goals.

The Ministry of Law launched a pilot Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Legal Secondment Programme to strengthen sustainability-related capabilities across the legal profession. Under the Programme, lawyers are seconded to ESG-forward corporations to gain experience working on live ESG projects and hone their commercial acumen.

Similarly, the Sustainable Finance Jobs Transformation Map, jointly developed by MAS and the Institute of Banking and Finance (IBF), identifies emerging skills necessary for Singapore's financial services sector to meet regional sustainable financing demands.

MAS has committed S$35 million from the Financial Sector Development Fund to support upskilling and reskilling initiatives, including IBF-accredited sustainable finance courses and IBF Skills Badge that provides a common benchmark to recognise an individual's competencies across sustainable finance skills.

Our educational institutions are also playing a vital role in building a strong talent pipeline to support our sustainability goals.

NUS SGFIN runs education programmes to equip industry practitioners with sustainable finance capabilities. In collaboration with the NUS Business School, SGFIN offers the Master of Science in Sustainable and Green Finance programme. Graduates from the programme have pursued diverse career pathways across the sustainability and green finance ecosystem, including roles in finance, investment, policy, corporate sustainability and advisory.

To ensure quality and consistency in sustainability education, ACRA published the Sustainability Reporting Body of Knowledge (SR BOK) last year to guide training providers in developing quality programmes for climate and sustainability reporting professionals.

Conclusion

Let me conclude.

Singapore's natural capital underpins our economic foundation, but mounting climate and physical risks threaten this foundation. Our approach has been to pursue sustainable development that balances economic progress with environmental stewardship.

We cannot tackle these challenges alone.

By working together, not just with businesses and financial institutions, but with countries in the region, we can co-develop innovative solutions to climate resilience that benefit all.

Singapore remains committed to leading this collaborative effort through our policy frameworks, financial incentives and regional partnerships.

As we embark on this Year of Climate Adaptation, this summit represents an opportunity to mobilise sustainable finance and forge meaningful partnerships between academics and industry practitioners.

Through platforms like SGFIN, we can advance research and thought leadership on adaptation and resilience while sharing innovative approaches that integrate nature and climate considerations into financial decision-making.

The solutions we develop here today may in time shape how we finance and enhance the natural capital that sustains our economies tomorrow.

Thank you and I wish you all a successful summit.