Email comments or guest ideas (to reply, include your email address)In this episode, we dive into the fascinating world of eco-friendly mining technology with Don Weatherbee, CEO of Regenx Tech, a company specializing in recycling precious metals from catalytic converters. Don shares the company's unique hydro metallurgic process, which is more environmentally sound than traditional mining and smelting. We discuss the market for platinum and palladium, the potential for growth, and the challe...

Email comments or guest ideas (to reply, include your email address)In this episode we dive into Taiwan's offshore wind story with Scott Hsu. A veteran in Asia's wind power sector, Scott shares unique insights from Taiwan's remarkable journey to become an offshore wind powerhouse. From market dynamics to financing challenges, we explore how Taiwan is balancing ambitious renewable targets with local industry development.ABOUT SCOTT: Scott Hsu is the Country Director for Taiwan and the Philippi...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.This episode is the second part of the conversation with a truly exceptional guest: one of Asia’s pre-eminent thinkers on the environment and climate change, Professor Christine Loh. We explore climate policy and climate action in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong, examining the issues from a policy perspective. Given China's crucial role in global climate action, we began by discussing the nation's p...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.This episode features a truly exceptional guest: one of Asia’s pre-eminent thinkers on the environment and climate change, Professor Christine Loh. We explore the crucial topic of climate business and finance education and capacity building. We started the conversation with Professor Loh on what exactly is the Institute for the Environment at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. And as y...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.Climate risk modelling plays a vital role in shaping informed decisions, managing risks, and driving strategic planning by empowering businesses, governments, and individuals to understand and quantify the impacts of climate change. It enables organizations to pinpoint and evaluate climate-related risks, meet regulatory requirements, safeguard financial stability, and fortify resilience. Furthermore, i...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.In this episode we analyse national and corporate transition trends in Asia. We have invited a distinguished guest to discuss this topic: Prof. Dr. Sayuri Shirai. Dr. Shirai is an Advisor for Sustainable Policies at the Asian Development Bank Institute. She is also a professor of economics at Keio University. We discuss areas such as adaptation and mitigation in Asia. We also cover the phase-down or ph...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.Episode 49 is about the related topics of electric vehicles, key minerals, and China. Our guest is Henry Sanderson. Henry is currently the executive editor of Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, a provider of supply chain and energy transition intelligence. This includes lithium, nickel, cobalt, electric vehicles, and the like. Henry and I first discuss his interest in EVs and the related minerals. Then we...

Please text on topics, guest ideas, comments. Please include your email if you want a reply.This is a special episode. It is an abridged version of a webinar held in May 2024 on climate finance. There are three short presentations followed by a short Q&A session. You will hear the views from Dr Tim Cadman from the University of Southern Queensland, from Dr Tapan Sarker, from the same university, and from Joseph Jacobelli. Dr Cadman discusses some positive trends about action toward protec...

Topic thoughts? Guest ideas? Comments? Just text us. (pls include reply details if needed)In this episode, we focus on a crucial part of climate-related business and finance: the creation of renewable energy projects. This is a significant step towards a cleaner energy future. Our expert guest, Steve Shi, is a seasoned professional in renewable energy project transactions, with experience in North America and Southeast Asia. He will enlighten us on the necessary steps to develop clean energy ...

Topic thoughts? Guest ideas? Comments? Just text us. (pls include reply details if needed)The phase-out of coal-fired power plants in Asia Pacific presents a significant challenge, requiring a delicate balance between environmental sustainability and economic feasibility. In this discussion, we are joined by Dr Christoph Nedopil Wang of the Griffith Asia Institute, who delves into case studies from Pakistan and Vietnam, offering valuable insights applicable to other Asian electricity markets....

A topic or guest idea? Comments? Please text us.The world’s offshore wind installed capacity reached 117 gigawatts in 2023, up 50% over 2022. It is projected to reach 320 GW by 2030. We discuss with Asia energy markets veteran Mark Hutchinson the recently released Global Wind Report 2024 by Global Wind Energy Council. We have a quick review of 2023, focus on a couple of the key take aways, share some thoughts on some key Asia Pacific offshore wind markets, discuss the state of capital investm...

A topic or guest idea? Comments? Please text us. Scaling up energy efficiency can for 11 per cent of cumulative emissions reductions by 2030 according to the IEA. In this episode energy industry veteran Alexander Ablaza, explains why energy efficiency the most important pieces of the energy transition although it is often unjustifiably ignored. He discusses in detail business and finance trends in the sector as well as examining the many investments opportunities, and the challenges, with...

In this episode podcast, we’re privileged to host two seasoned stalwarts of the heavy industry, Genevieve Hilton and Steve Willis. Their unexpected pivot has led them to channel their vast experience into a compelling work of fiction: ‘Fairhaven: A Novel of Climate Optimism’ (Habitat Press, 2024). This isn’t just a novel; it’s a beacon illuminating the pressing climate issues that our planet grapples with. Our conversation takes a deep dive into Genevieve’s and Steve’s transformative journey...

One of the rapidly growing areas in climate business and finance is the purchase by corporations of clean energy. This is frequently referred to as corporate renewable energy procurement. Such purchases jumped 12% to 46 gigawatts in 2023 according to BNEF. Our guest is Suji Kang, the programme director of Asia Clean Energy Coalition, an organisation dedicated to corporate renewable energy procurement in Asia. Members include major multinationals such as Amazon, Google, Ikea, and many others....

Some of the climate business and finance trends in Europe and the US are highly applicable to the Asian experience. In this episode, energy media specialist Pamela Largue provides some clarity on some of these trends. We first briefly chat about her organisation, Enlit World, an important source of sector news and trends through publications and conferences. We then discuss Pamela’s latest findings after participating at Enlit industry conferences in Europe (energy security) and the US...

Our guest is Mike Thomas who heads The Lantau Group, a Hong Kong-based consultancy, and who is one of the leading energy economics thinkers in the Asia Pacific region. As it is the beginning of the year, Mike evaluates a small sample of the many developments in the region’s climate business and finance in 2023. He also shares a few thoughts on 2024 and beyond. We discuss some specific markets including Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and China as well as examine some of the major themes...

Corporates play a crucial role in driving the energy transition. Their role is critical to accelerating change and addressing the pressing climate change challenges. It is critical for corporates to formulate transition strategies, beyond climate risk and other types of reporting. It is a tough hurdle given all of this is very new. Our guest is Summer Chen who is a Principal Consultant with ERM, a leading multinational consultancy firm. Summer works with corporates on the strategy front,...

 Decarbonisation efforts start with the commitment by a government. Once the broad policy is set, the real hard work of regulation begins. To understand and advance sustainable finance it is absolutely imperative to understand this work. In this episode our guest is Eugene Wong who shares his unique insights on the Southeast Asian experience. Eugene is the Chief Executive Officer of the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia. The Institute is a neutral, convening platform to bring together...

Industry practitioners are a key source to understand the business and finance of the energy transition in Asia. In episode 37’s we have a conversation  is Robert McGregor. Robert is the Chief Corporate Development Officer of Gurīn Energy, a pan-Asia renewable energy company. He has a long, illustrious, and unique career in the energy industry first in the UK and then in Asia. We had a broad-based and in-depth conversation on key topics revolving around clean energy.  Robert shares his...

 Corporates all over the world are under immense pressure to address their carbon footprint.  They must worry about their own footprint as well as that of other companies their linked with, such as their suppliers. In this episode I chat with a specialist in this area, Albert Sutanto. Albert is the Southeast Asia Markets Manager at Mt. Stonegate Green Asset Management based in Taiwan. Albert shares his experience on how he helps corporates to identify and reduce their carbon footprints as...

Asia will account for 50% or more of global energy transition investments in the next three plus decades. Financing is of primary importance and is a challenge. In this episode, Andrew Kinloch, a leading infrastructure finance expert, discusses some of these challenges. He looks at financing renewable energy projects in general and then he discusses in detail some of the challenges such as how to address Asia’s young coal fired power plants fleet. He also has interesting thoughts about the...

The development of China's solar industry is key to the nation’s as well as the world’s net zero ambitions. Installed capacity was 392 GW in 2022 and is set to continue to grow further. In this episode, we speak to Frank Haugwitz who has been involved in the sector for over two decades. He is a Senior Advisor and China Representative of Apricum, a transaction advisory and strategy consulting company. We first briefly look at the history and background of the industry and identify the reasons...

Sustainability and green finance can be highly complex subjects as they comprise a multitude of disciplines. Recent years have seen the creation of a variety of advisor and consulting firms specialising on sustainability. In this episode, Wee Boon Siong, CEO of RHT Green which specialises in advising on sustainability and green finance, discusses how RHT Green helps corporates in their sustainability journey, something increasingly key to their operations and fund raising. Boon Siong provides...

Carbon exchanges are an important component of sustainable finance as they enable the sale of carbon credits to reduce emissions. In this episode, we have Bill Pazos, Co-founder and Co-CEO of the AirCarbon Exchange (ACX), which won Environmental Finance’s Best Carbon Exchange award twice. The discussion starts with an overview of the role of carbon exchanges and Bill’s views on the current state of carbon markets and trading. We then delve into ACX's history, shareholders and stakeholders,...