Climate change is humanity’s most serious existential threat. According to the report from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – a United Nations group that looked at more than 14,000 scientific papers – the global temperature is expected to increase by 1.5 degrees Celsius or more over the next 20 years, which will cause more extreme weather events and rising sea levels. Indeed, it is not just Covid-19 that is threatening, the world just this year has experienced record-breaking temperatures, raging wildfires and devastating floods.

As the damages mount, it is clear that climate risks are also increasingly becoming a source of financial risks, leading more companies and investors to recognize how real these risks are and that they could lead to untold financial losses. In particular, the real estate sector, which accounts for over 40% of global energy consumption, is facing more location-specific sustainability risks.

As a result, financial institutions, investors and others are including climate-change factors in their financial decision-making. The release of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosure recommendations has accelerated this process, boosting the demand for climate-related disclosure.

Private-sector leaders have also noted the importance of transparency on climate-related issues within financial markets. However, some issuers and borrowers are still struggling to implement the recommendations required, facing barriers like the lack of consistent disclosure and climate data, limited experience in applying scenario analysis to climate change, and ensuring support at the board level for enhanced disclosure.

The urgency for issuers and borrowers to incorporate climate-related practices into their business strategies and risk management is no longer a nice-to-have but a must-to-have to mitigate against future threats. Hence, it is necessary to set off on a new growth path that responds to risks and paves the way towards a net-zero carbon emissions future.

The Asset Events+, in association with New World Development, is pleased to host this exclusive webinar, Paving the way toward net zero, which brings together top industry experts, issuers, investors and financiers to discuss how Asia's property developers and investors can rapidly adjust to the new landscape.