Asia's climate technology pursuits - unearthing the critical element for triumph
The Liveability Challenge (TLC) 2025, held in Singapore, brought together industry leaders and climate tech startups to discuss the key challenges and opportunities shaping the future of sustainable development. The event, focused on business resilience, decarbonisation, and climate solutions, served as a significant platform for dialogue in the Asia Pacific region.
During the panel discussion, moderated by the founder and CEO of a certain website, Dr Dazril Phua, chief operating officer of Nandina REM, shared his insights from the climate tech space. One of the main topics of discussion was the funding constraints faced by startups due to economic uncertainty and reduced climate tech investment. In the year ended September 2024, global investment into climate tech dropped 29% to US$56 billion, despite record overall energy transition funding.
Another challenge highlighted was the lack of coherent and aligned policies across sectors and regions, which impedes the commercialization and scaling of climate solutions. Startups require robust public-private partnerships and clear regulatory frameworks to validate, pilot, and adopt innovations at scale. Programs like Net Zero Challenge and TLC, which emphasize ecosystem support and strategic partnerships for validation and market entry, demonstrate the importance of such collaborations.
The necessity of strong partnerships and ecosystem support was emphasized as a means to bridge funding gaps and overcome policy hurdles. For example, Temasek Foundation-backed initiatives provide catalytic capital and pilot opportunities, helping startups navigate fragmented policy landscapes while mitigating the funding shortfall.
The event also emphasized the importance of prioritizing the ease of implementation of a solution to increase potential buy-in from adopters. Working in consortiums or alliances can be particularly helpful for startups in hard-to-abate sectors like aviation.
The TLC 2025 included ideas related to aviation and infrastructure, reflecting its broad focus on climate finance and technology. The winners of the challenge have yet to be identified publicly, but the lull in climate tech investments is attributed to investors nursing a "hangover" following exuberance during the Covid-19 pandemic. The current climate for climate tech startups is challenging, with investors being reticent to commit.
Despite these challenges, clear market signals and policy coherence are key to enabling climate technologies to scale. The TLC 2025 was part of the broader effort to promote sustainable development goals (SDGs) 9, 12, 13, and 17, highlighting the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing climate change.
Technology risk was identified as not being the biggest problem for startups, but rather the uncertainty of market development and supportive policy frameworks. The TLC 2025, with its focus on sustainable finance and innovation, serves as a testament to the ongoing efforts to support climate tech startups and accelerate the transition to a sustainable future.
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- The TLC 2025, emphasizing sustainable development, brought together industry leaders and climate tech startups to discuss issues like funding constraints and the need for coherent policies, shaping the future of climate tech and climate finance.
- Climate tech startups frequently face funding difficulties due to economic uncertainty and reduced climate tech investment, as evidenced by a 29% drop in global investment to US$56 billion in the year ended September 2024 across all sectors.
- Collaborative efforts such as public-private partnerships and strategic alliances are essential for startups to overcome funding gaps and navigate fragmented policy landscapes, paving the way for scaling climate solutions and achieving SDGs 9, 12, 13, and 17.
- In the climate tech sector, the current market environment poses challenges for startups, as investors remain cautious due to uncertainties in market development and supportive policy frameworks, rather than the technology itself.
- By focusing on sustainable finance and innovation, events like the TLC 2025 aim to provide a platform for nurturing and accelerating climate tech startups, helping them navigate challenging conditions and contribute to the transition to a sustainable environment. [Reference 1, Reference 2, Reference 3, Reference 4]
