Temasek’s green push taps into Singapore’s sustainability focus, China’s carbon-neutral drive

The state investor has teamed up with BlackRock to raise billions for carbon-cutting startups

The move is aligned with growing Singaporean interest in climate governance, and China’s efforts to attain net zero emissions by 2060, analysts say

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Temasek and BlackRock say their new venture, Decarbonization Partners, is looking to raise US$1 billion for its first fund. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 8:00am, 15 Apr 2021Updated: 8:50am, 15 Apr 2021

In 2019, Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, one of the world’s most influential state investors, unveiled plans to halve the greenhouse gas emissions attributable to its portfolio assets by 2030.

Last year, the firm – which has majority control over the likes of Singtel, DBS Bank and Singapore Airlines – said it hoped to achieve the vaunted goal of zero net emissions in its portfolio by 2050. Chief executive Ho Ching, who will hand over the reins to Dilhan Pillay Sandrasegara in October, at the time said the company was studying “how we can shape a carbon-neutral portfolio sooner than later”.

With Tuesday’s announcement that Temasek is teaming up with American firm BlackRock, the world’s biggest asset manager, to fund and invest in companies seeking to help achieve global net-zero emissions by the middle of the century, observers say it is becoming clear the Singaporean state investor is serious about its climate ambitions.

When this alliance was viewed alongside a separate US$500 million commitment in March to partner impact investor Leapfrog Investments, the observers added that Temasek was on the correct trajectory to achieve the goals it set out in 2019.

BlackRock and Temasek on Tuesday said their new venture, Decarbonization Partners, would target raising US$1 billion for its first fund, with seed capital of US$300 million alongside third-party capital.

The firms are pledging a total of US$600 million to multiple funds that are expected to focus on varied sectors, from grid solutions to electric and autonomous vehicles.

According to Bloomberg, Decarbonization Partners will zero in on late-stage venture capital, the point at which start-ups need greater amounts of capital to manufacture at scale and expand into new markets.

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