Geneva, Switzerland, 30 September 2022 – The World Economic Forum announced today a long-term collaboration agreement with the Philanthropy Asia Alliance to accelerate and scale nature and climate action in Asia through public-private action.
The partnership comes following estimates by the ClimateWorks Foundation that less than 2% of global philanthropic spending has been dedicated to climate action, far from what is needed to meet the growing climate and nature crises.
“We are excited to enhance our ability to drive impact in Asia and elevate Asian voices in the global nature and climate agenda,” said Klaus Schwab, Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic Forum. “Investors, corporates, governments, and philanthropies need to redesign our societies and economies to operate within planetary boundaries. A new generation of philanthropic-public-private collaborations can help us catalyse the systems change needed to address the climate crisis.”
The Forum’s Centre for Nature and Climate will work with the Philanthropy Asia Alliance, an initiative of Temasek Trust, on a multi-year programme that will focus on generating insights and forging communities, including through the annual Philanthropy Asia Summit. The goal is to enable a new level of collaboration among philanthropists, private sector leaders and policymakers in the region to innovate on solutions and accelerate progress on the climate and nature agendas.
The partnership will focus on building public-private alliances to equip current and future decision-makers, business leaders and philanthropists across Asia with the tools needed to embrace systems thinking and coordinate collective responses. It will also look to adopt inclusive and resilience approaches towards building a net-zero, nature-positive and regenerative economy in an increasingly complex and fragmented world.
“Temasek Trust is pleased to have the World Economic Forum as a strategic partner for the Philanthropy Asia Alliance. Together, we will explore new models of collaboration to catalyse the cross-pollination of ideas between Asia and the world to take action with purpose,” said Ho Ching, Chairman of Temasek Trust. “Among its many strengths, the Forum’s ability to frame complex challenges into actionable discussions can drive Asia’s momentum towards scaled impact. The exchange of ideas, especially in the areas of nature and climate, will lay the foundation for innovative projects for our alliance members.”
The initiation of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance was announced by Temasek Trust at the 2022 Philanthropy Asia Summit. The alliance aims to promote and enable collective action for a better world, and to prime Asia as a force for the greater good. It will also work to develop thought and action leadership in philanthropy and support scalable impact through multi-sector partnerships and alliances.
Established by Temasek Holdings in 2007, Temasek Trust is a steward of philanthropic endowments and gifts from Temasek and other donors. It strives to deliver sustainable funding for the long-term well-being and security of communities. Temasek Trust provides governance and financial oversight of endowments for Temasek Foundation, Stewardship Asia Centre, Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory and Mandai Nature. The work at Temasek Trust supports a common purpose of doing good, uplifting lives, fostering inclusive communities, and advancing science and technology for a more liveable world. Temasek Trust strives also to inspire and enable giving, and to forge new pathways for philanthropy and impact investing.
The World Economic Forum, committed to improving the state of the world, is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas.
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