Money Talks: Funding the Future

You know the future is looking bad when JP Morgan is publishing reports on decision making given climate tipping points. Even Morgan Stanley’s survey of 300 corporate leaders shows 78% of them say negative impacts from physical risks are “very/somewhat likely” – this is up from just shy of two-thirds last year. So this month, we go looking for money to fund future resilience to alleviate widening risk gaps.

Crossing tipping points puts water, food & energy as well as economic security at risk so who better to talk to than ADB’s Noelle O’Brien about their US$100mn glacier bond for glacier protection & adaptation while investment fund Acumen’s Tamer El-Raghy shares how investing in smallholder farmers benefits markets.

Closer to home, green finance guru Tracy Wong Harris makes the case for Hong Kong to be a PPPP hub to catalyse finance for adaptation while SFi urges Asian families to step forward to unlock the blue economy.

Just in the past year, we have lost 408 gigatonnes of glacier mass as global temperatures stray farther from the 1°C safe limit for ice. ICIMOD’s HKH Snow Update 2026 also shows alarming falls in snow levels from 47% in the Tibetan Plateau to 60% in the Mekong! Such severe ice & snow losses put our freshwater resources at risk. So, we welcome ADB’s US$100mn bond to protect glaciers in Central & West Asia.

Director of Climate Change Strategy and Engagement Noelle O’Brien gives us insight into this deal arranged by BNP Paribas & Morgan Stanley. Investing in glacier monitoring and early warning systems will be key to saving lives and preventing losses – what else is in ADB’s portfolio? How did they make the business case for glacier financing? What should we keep our eyes out for? Check out our interview.

This bond is just the start. It is part of ADB’s greater US$3.5bn commitment to build glacier resilience in Central & West Asia. This is important as 30% of their glacial area has already been lost, threatening water & food security for >380mn people.

Indeed, smallholder farmers who produce one-third of the world’s food are the backbone of global food security. Leading social impact investor Acumen sees this as an opportunity. We talk to Managing Director Tamer El-Raghy on how the US$58mn Acumen Resilient Agriculture Fund invests in early-stage agribusinesses across Africa.

There are tangible results for resilience – 90% of farmers supported by Acumen’s portfolio companies saw higher incomes & productivity plus greater resilience to climate shocks like droughts, floods, or heat stress. These stats were painstakingly collected through 5,700 surveys conducted over 5 years.

When farmers benefit, markets do too as resilient food production means stronger supply chains and lower market volatility. See El-Raghy’s tips for investors and funders on getting into this space.

Despite this momentum, adaptation financing gaps remain huge – for developing countries the gap has widened from US$187-359bn per year in 2024 to US$284-339bn per year in 2025 due to a lag in funding amid escalating physical risks.

A report released yesterday in partnership with Temasek & Invesco notes that Asia is the most vulnerable – since 2000, natural disasters affected 3.7bn Asians vs. 1.1bn for the rest of the world; it projects a 17% GDP loss for SEA by 2050 when warming reaches 2°C. Asia needs to raise more money to mitigate this.

Tracy Wong Harris says Asia is not short of green capital, but climate adaptation, distributed energy & flood management fall through the cracks of conventional finance because these projects may be too small, too complex, or too long-term. She should know as she’s the Private Capital Mobilisation Strategy Advisor at AIIB and Executive Vice President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association.

Wong Harris believes Hong Kong can help solve this problem by building a PPPP Platform – to bring together capital from Public, Private and Philanthropy Partnerships for sustainable development. In essence, this is a blended finance platform designed to scale and she shares 5 must-have qualities for PPPP to succeed.

Could the Northern Metropolis be the right proving ground for investing in water resilience? How can we leverage HK’s strengths to scale an adaptation capital market for Asia? Find out here.

Asian philanthropists certainly have a role to play in building resilience across Asia. SFi, a global platform created by and for APAC-focused private investors and changemakers, believe so – particularly in catalysing the blue economy. This is because despite being home to some of the world’s busiest sea lanes, largest ports & most climate exposed coastlines, Asian capital is still hesitant to invest in its oceans.

While Asia’s shipping families know that fuel efficiency, route optimisation and next-gen vessels are good for business, more gains await from investing in ocean decarb & restoration. If only Asia’s business families start rethinking capital holistically by breaking down walls between business, investment & philanthropy…

How could philanthropists & foundations kickstart APAC’s blue economy? What kind of case studies are needed? Are there any brave families taking the leap? Check out this op-ed from SFi.

With risks outpacing adaptation efforts, we are far from funding future resilience – Asia needs to step up to reduce its vulnerabilities. We cannot let adaptation financing slip from global priorities when it’s now more urgent than ever.

It’s not just us saying that seas are rising faster – the Royal Society has just warned that without rapid & deep emissions cuts, “decision-makers must begin to fully appreciate that sea-level rise of more than 1 meter and even over 2 meters within this century …are a real possibility”.

The risks & therefore the corresponding opportunities are massive – none of the world’s top 50 funders for climate & ocean solutions are based in Asia.

So come on Asia … it’s time to lead! Money talks – and it’s heading towards adaptation & resilience – so follow it to fund our better & safer future!