Singapore's climate tech startups are set to clean up - Nikkei Asia
Singapore's climate tech startups are set to clean up - Nikkei Asia
Rod Bristow is the CEO of Investible, an Asia-Pacific-based venture capital firm
Already a major global financial center, Singapore is on a parallel track to become one of the world's top climate tech hubs. While places like Silicon Valley, London and Boston already lead the world in climate tech innovation, Singapore has many assets in its favor like a strong startup ecosystem, government mandates for net-zero and its position as an international trade hub.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”