Temasek launches investment platform to accelerate decarbonisation towards net zero
“GenZero is driven by the common purpose to decarbonise for future generations.”
Temasek has announced it has committed an initial amount of S$5 billion in the launch of its investment platform company dedicated to accelerating decarbonisation globally.
Going by the name of GenZero, the investment platform aims to accelerate decarbonisation, for future generations towards a net zero world. To achieve its goal, the platform will invest across three focus areas: technology-based solutions, nature-based solutions, and carbon ecosystem enablers.
These focus areas present a holistic and integrated approach to address the emissions gap, with solutions across both the near- and longer-term horizons, said Temasek.
Seeking to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns, GenZero invests in opportunities ranging from early-stage companies and solutions that require patient capital to commercialise and grow, to more mature ones that are ready to scale.
Taking actions to achieve net zero target
Dr Steve Howard, Chief Sustainability Officer at Temasek International, said: “GenZero expands Temasek’s focus on deploying capital to catalyse solutions for a better world. Achieving net zero globally will require deployment of around US$5 trillion annually by 2030[2], to rapidly adopt and commercialise sustainable energy solutions. Its flexible approach will enable it to catalyse near- and long-term solutions to support ongoing efforts to achieve net zero globally. GenZero will not only support Temasek’s efforts as we strive towards halving our portfolio’s net emissions by 2030 and working towards a net zero portfolio by 2050, but also those of the wider ecosystem.”
Frederick Teo, upcoming CEO of GenZero, added: “GenZero is driven by the common purpose to decarbonise for future generations. Recognising the importance of immediate action, we will focus on investment opportunities that can deliver positive climate impact by 2030 while ensuring sustainable financial returns. Besides deploying capital, we will work with our investee companies to address operational challenges and accelerate the deployment of their solutions to achieve our shared net zero target.”
GenZero will be managed by a dedicated team of professionals with deep expertise in the investment and sustainability space, led by its CEO-designate, Frederick Teo, who is currently the Managing Director of Sustainable Solutions at Temasek International. Mr Teo has served nearly 12 years in Temasek in leadership positions across a broad range of roles such as sustainability, portfolio management, business continuity and strategic stakeholder engagement. He will fully transition to his role at GenZero on 1 July 2022.
The world is not on track to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, according to the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which urges further decarbonisation across all sectors to avoid irreversible damage to the planet by reducing global carbon emissions and address the emissions gap, which is estimated between 19 and 26 gigatonnes of carbon in 2030 for a 1.5 degrees Celsius scenario.
GenZero is wholly-owned by Temasek, a global investment company with a net portfolio valued at S$381 billion (US$283 billion) as of 31 March 2021.
