Global climate advisory firm expands in S’pore, appoints ex-Temasek executive as managing director
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Pollination intends to second staff from other locations and hire more Singaporean employees once an office has been established.
ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI
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SINGAPORE – Sydney-based climate change advisory and investment firm Pollination has hired former Temasek director Law Heng Dean as managing director of its newly expanded operations here.
Mr Law previously led the development of GenZero, a green investment firm wholly owned by Temasek. He has also worked as a senior diplomat at the Singapore Embassy in Indonesia.
He said: “The Singapore Government has been proactive and ambitious when it comes to leading on decarbonisation, and we are seeing that pay dividends now.
“We are pleased to now be expanding our presence and to be working with so many leaders across the region who want to decarbonise their businesses and economies.”
Mr Law will be joined at the helm by former Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing vice-president Diego de Sartiges, who will also serve as managing director.
Pollination was founded in 2019 in Sydney and London, and has more than 250 staff across offices in Sydney, Melbourne, London, Washington and Chicago.
It does not have a physical base in Singapore yet, but said it intends to second staff from other locations and hire more Singaporean employees once an office has been established.
Pollination has around US$650 million (S$890 million) in assets under management through a partnership with HSBC.
It also specialises in helping clients such as conglomerates and investment funds with their decarbonisation and green finance investment strategies.
The firm signed a memorandum of understanding in August with Indonesia’s sovereign wealth fund, the Indonesia Investment Authority, to identify investment opportunities and to develop nature-based projects to support vital ecosystems such as rainforests, peatlands and mangroves.
Mr Law noted that Pollination has seen a significant surge in interest from companies in Singapore and South-east Asia seeking to develop strategies to achieve net-zero emissions.
“Singapore wants to be a regional hub for decarbonisation and environmental markets,” he said.
“It has set ambitious targets and has priced carbon in a way that businesses here increasingly understand that net-zero transition strategy is critical for their future growth and prosperity.”
He added: “We’re seeing companies not just waking up to the risks of not acting fast enough, but also becoming eager to capitalise on opportunities.”
Pollination intends to advise companies here on strategies to reduce or offset their emissions as they respond to Singapore’s carbon tax regime and the global shift towards net-zero economies and businesses.
In 2022, the Government announced that it will raise carbon taxes in 2024 to rein in greenhouse gas emissions.
The carbon tax will rise to $25 per tonne of greenhouse gas emissions in 2024 from $5 now, and rise again to $45 in 2026.
This sets the nation on a trajectory to reach between $50 and $80 a tonne by 2030.
