Former MAS chief Ravi Menon appointed Singapore's first climate action ambassador

Source: The Straits Times
Author: Cheryl Tan

SINGAPORE - Mr Ravi Menon, the former managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, will be the Republic's first ambassador for climate action.

In this role, he will drive public-private partnerships with local stakeholders, in particular the business community, to help them contribute to global discourse on how to help address climate challenges.

Mr Menon will also represent Singapore at international climate action platforms, said the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) in a statement on March 26.

He will also advise NCCS on whole-of-government climate policies and action.

His appointment as Singapore's Ambassador for Climate Action and Senior Adviser (National Climate Change Secretariat) will take effect from April 1.

The former MAS chief assumes this new mantle as financing becomes increasingly important at global climate negotiations, with more funding needed to help countries reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate change.

NCCS said that as MAS managing director, Mr Menon had helped to build a green finance ecosystem and support Singapore and Asia's transition towards a low carbon future.

For instance, he led efforts in building a blended finance platform - Financing Asia's Transition Partnership (FAST-P) - to address climate finance gaps and help channel more funding to green or transition projects in Asia.

Historically, It has been difficult for such projects to raise capital because of issues such as lack of expertise in project development and regulatory, political and foreign exchange risks.

Announced at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai in December 2023, the FAST-P platform aims to mobilise up to US$5 billion (SGD $6.6 billion) in financing for projects relating to green energy and the upgrade of electricity grid infrastructure, among others.

The Government said in 2023 it was prepared to contribute capital - which could come in the form of grants or more favourable loans - with the hope it would give confidence to banks and the private sector to channel more investments to these areas.

Mr Menon was also instrumental in developing the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy, which set new criteria for banks and financial institutions on the financing of green business activities and transitional activities that are currently not green, but are on a pathway to net-zero emissions.

This comes as Singapore aims to play an active role in fostering international collaboration to catalyse global climate action, and is looking to leverage its strengths as a global hub to do so, said NCCS.