Five heirs of wealthy Asian families who invest in fighting climate change and pollution, and what they’ve learned

Solar power projects, sustainable building materials, green bonds – wealthy millennials from Indonesia to Singapore to Hong Kong have embraced climate activism

They’ve also incorporated good environmental practices in their family businesses

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Places in Asia like Shenyang in China have terrible air pollution. But the heirs of some wealthy Asian families are hoping to change this. Photo: Alamy

Published: 8:15am, 24 Sep 2019Updated: 8:35pm, 24 Sep 2019

From Beijing’s gridlocked ring roads to Delhi’s urban sprawl, Asia is home to two of the planet’s five most-polluting countries, as well as more than one-third of its wealthiest citizens.

But government and philanthropic efforts to combat climate change often take a back seat to programmes aimed at fixing more immediate issues, such as alleviating poverty and lifting education standards.

“It comes down to whether nature is a big thing for us,” says Francis Ngai, the founder of Social Ventures Hong Kong, which works with some of the city’s most generous families on issues including climate change. “Sometimes they can’t feel for nature as an issue, but they can see poor people around them.”

Getting wealthy people around the world to contribute to philanthropic causes and deals is vital because few other groups have the money or flexibility to make an impact, while global attempts to combat climate change have been hobbled by competing national interests.

A high-speed train travels past a coal plant outside Changchun, in Jilin province, China. Photo: Alamy

“Despite the recent international focus on climate change, the environment remains an area that receives relatively little support from foundations in Asia,” the Asia Centre for Social Entrepreneurship and Philanthropy said in a 2018 report. It added that Asia foundations are “only beginning to give along the line of international agendas”.