Singapore Sustainable Finance Association https://validator.w3.org/feed/docs/rss2.html Upcoming events SSFA Resource SSFA News Home Industry Event (250820) – Southeast Asia Conference on Nature-based Solutions: Unlocking Financing and Local Action for Climate Ready and Biodiversity-Positive Cities in Singapore SSFA Event (250825) – British High Commission-SSFA Roundtable on Mobilising Capital for Nature Finance in Southeast Asia SSFA Event(250821) – SSFA-Google-Symbiosis Coalition Roundtable on Advancing Nature-based Carbon Removals in SEA Industry Event (241024) – Asia Carbon Summit Guidance for Leveraging the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy in Green and Transition Financing Financing Our Natural Capital: A practical guide for FIs getting started on nature financing Launch of the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association (SSFA) Speech by Mr Chia Der Jiun, Managing Director, Monetary Authority of Singapore, at the Launch of the Singapore Sustainable Finance Association on 24 January 2024 Five ASEAN Carbon Market Associations unite at COP29 to support the ASEAN Common Carbon Framework SSFA’s Natural Capital & Biodiversity (NCB) Workstream Launches White Paper to Guide Financial Institutions on Nature Financing SSFA’s Taxonomy Workstream Releases Additional Guidance to Further Application of the Singapore-Asia Taxonomy in Green and Transition Financing Carbon Markets (CM) Workstream Would carbon intensity be an eligible criteria for assessing if a building is green? Would energy efficiency be an eligible criteria for assessing if the building is green or amber? The SAT provides TSC for the manufacture of materials such as cement, aluminum, iron and steel, which are materials used in the Real Estate and Construction (RE&C) sector. i) Will distributors or importers of these materials need to fulfil these criteria for a RE&C financing to qualify as green? ii) Does a contractor purchasing building materials need to fulfil these criteria for a RE&C financing to qualify as green? If cement or steel products have Singapore Green Building Product (SGBP) certification or Singapore Green Label Scheme (SGLS) certification, is it still necessary to meet the criteria under Activities 4.2 and 4.3? Can SGBP-certified steel or SGLS-certified cement qualify for green financing if these materials will be used in the construction of a new building that meets the SAT-aligned criteria under Activity 3.1 “Construction of New Buildings”? *Note: There is no SAT-aligned green cement and steel, only SAT-aligned green cement and steel manufacturing facilities. Are all levels of the Green Mark Certification (i.e. Certified, Gold, GoldPLUS, and Platinum) eligible to qualify an activity as green under the SAT? If so, what is the rationale? For Activity 3.4 “Acquisition or ownership of buildings”, the criteria refer to top 15% of national building stock based on Primary Energy Demand (PED), GHG Emissions or Energy Consumption. However, these data are not available in the BCA Building Energy Benchmarking Report (BEBR). How can we determine whether a building falls within the top 15% of building national stock by referencing to the BEBR? For Activity 3.1 “Construction of new buildings”, as part of Table 4 and 5’s eligible international certifications, what is the criteria for Renewable Energy Pathway A or B under Green Star Homes? The construction of building often take years, while green building certificates are typically issued only upon completion. Can a developer obtain a green finance label for financing activities during the construction phase if the intention is to achieve green building certification upon completion? Will financing for land acquisition be eligible for green criteria? Governance Singapore-Asia Taxonomy FAQ Repository Under Activity 2.6 Sea and coastal water transport, it mentions “vessels achieve the levels of ambition set by the 2023 IMO Strategy…” under the Amber Criteria. What are the acceptable thresholds for said “energy efficiency improvements”? What are some of the IMO documentation/submissions/annual audit requirements that we can rely on to ascertain that the borrower meets all the criteria (e.g. EEOI/AER and their calculation methodologies)? How does the borrower attest/evidence that the vessel would be using such biofuels? It is mentioned that if vessels are using biofuels, the biofuels must “be recognised by the IMO as relevant and eligible fuels/energy carriers……taking into account the IMO LCA Guidelines”, can we curate the list of such eligible fuels in the Handbook for easier reference? Under Activity 2.6 Sea and coastal water transport, for the financing of newbuilds ships under amber, how can we make an assessment if it meets the transition criteria given actual fuel use is needed to assess alignment with the IMO revised trajectory? In the event of a revision, such as if the IMO develops a 1.5-degree pathway, what would be the treatment for vessels aligned with the current version of the SAT? The SAT has adopted the same metrics as the EU Taxonomy which are also used by IMO, however it goes beyond what is offered by EU by providing the long-term decarbonization pathway. The EU Taxonomy has specified such criteria will be valid until 31 December 2025, while the SAT has the thresholds until 2050. Are there any thresholds required for infrastructure dedicated to zero-emission aviation (e.g. airports) in terms of energy efficiency or emissions reduction to be eligible as green? Is there any reason why energy efficient/ emission reduction activity for water transport infrastructure is not considered? What does water transport infrastructure include? What is the sunset date for Amber criteria? Under Activity 2.4 Freight Transport by Road, Amber criteria, (1) Can we establish standardised threshold values (by country) clearly for the 50th percentile “reference CO2 emissions of vehicles in the vehicle sub-group to which the vehicle belongs”? SSFA Connects (250819) – Member’s Showcase – KPMG in Singapore: Advancing Energy Transition Through Blended Finance and Innovations SSFA Workshop (290821) – SSFA-OW NCB Masterclass #2 – Understanding Nature-related Risks & Financing a Nature-positive Future What We Do SSFA Connects (250805) – Member’s Showcase – MSCI Taxonomy (TX) Workstream Natural Capital & Biodiversity (NCB) Workstream Membership About Us SSFA Workshop (250821) – SSFA-OW NCB Masterclass #1 – Why Nature & Biodiversity Matters for Business What are the acceptable thresholds for “GHG reduction”? Noted that IMO has a 2008 base year/ baseline and 2030 target year- since the targets are set at a global level and achievement happens in the future (e.g. 2030), how do we evidence that a particular vessel contributes/aligns with it? SSFA Connects (251007) – Member’s Showcase – ICMA & TNC