“Many did not have any yield last year because of extreme weather,” said To, a licensed aromatherapist who co-founded the social enterprise that runs an organic farm and organises aromatherapy workshops.
To also said this first-hand experience with the impacts of climate change gives a stronger sense of purpose and urgency to his day job as chief executive officer of Climate Finance Asia. The sustainable finance consultancy serves as secretariat to the Just Transition Working Group, an alliance of 15 global and regional banks, philanthropies and non-profits launched last October.
The group recently published the world’s first Facility-level Just Transition Guidelines for Banks to help banks develop more equitable transition plans for phasing out coal-fired plants.
According to To, who was recognised in this year’s Sustainability Leadership A-List, Asia’s major banks are the main financiers of energy transition projects in the region. However, many have yet to incorporate elements of social equity into their transition finance plans.
“A just transition requires banks, borrowers and even third parties to consider the greater impact of these projects on the communities whose economies and livelihoods depend on the operations of existing facilities,” he said.
To (in sunglasses) leading a group of young workshop participants on a tour of Aromafunapy’s farm. Image: Aromafunapy
The disparity between Hong Kong’s various social groups is something To has also witnessed over his many years volunteering with the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, and later as co-founder of Yum Cha Together, a social movement which seeks to bridge various groups including non-profits, their beneficiaries, companies and government institutions through Hong Kong’s shared dim sum culture.
Dim sum is a style of Cantonese cuisine featuring small, bite-sized dishes, typically served with tea. Yum cha is Cantonese for the drinking of tea.
“All these years, I have interacted with the grassroots and [engaged with] nature, while also interacting with senior executives and C-suite leaders in my professional life. These are two extremes on the social spectrum. I would say they live in parallel universes,” he said.
Grassroots communities are typically optimistic and full of energy but lack resources and important connections, shared To. On the other hand, corporate leaders could do more to learn about local communities.
“I encourage senior executives and C-suites to not just sit in the boardroom. Go out into the community, connect with nature, get inspired by what you see and what you can do to shape today’s sick earth into a sustainable planet,” he said.
In this interview, To shares how he has integrated lessons from his social work into advocating for a just transition, and how climate finance is evolving in Asia.
Transition finance is a big theme of your work at Climate Finance Asia. What are some trends and opportunities you are tracking?
Financial institutions are pivotal in mobilising resources and achieving our carbon neutrality goals. The United Nations has also forecasted that emerging markets will need to mobilise US$2.4 trillion by 2030 for climate and nature spending, which includes an estimate of US$85 billion a year for dedicated just transition activities involving workers and communities.
The major financiers of the energy transition in this region are the commercial banks. Many have developed transition finance policies, but have yet to address the social equity aspect of the energy transition. If they do not consider just transition elements, the banks could potentially incur social and reputational risks during their energy transition projects.
Banks need to have a practical framework for this. In March, we published the world’s first Facility-level Just Transition Guidelines for Banks, which not only provides an outline of what a just transition looks like for borrowers and banks, but also helps banks understand what they need to know and do to advance a just transition when they are financing the decommissioning of coal-fired power plants, other fossil fuel facilities and major infrastructure projects that could have similar social implications.
“
My personal experience with Climate Finance Asia’s working group on the just transition guidelines for banks are that there are US banks which have continued to participate, though they prefer to stay anonymous.
On the topic of just transition, many know about the importance of governance and to help the workforce adapt to new clean energy roles, but a just transition also requires banks and borrower to consider the greater impact of the projects [they finance] on the communities, whose livelihoods could depend on the operation of existing facilities. It is also important to include voices of certain communities, including women, in the planning stage.
How have the region’s banks responded?
Many global and regional banks see a real challenge in integrating just transition plans or guidelines into their transition finance policies because they recognise that if they don’t do it well, they are exposed to reputational risks. At the same time, energy transition and coal phase-out projects are emerging in this region. So banks are interested in learning about and applying just transition guidelines to their projects.
What we also highly appreciate are engagements with organisations like Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC), Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) , Hong Kong Green Finance Association, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and GenZero. These are very influential organisations driving climate finance and the energy transition. We work very closely with them to explore various forms of collaboration.
We would like to continue to work with such stakeholders, banks and other types of investors. Because the guidelines are process-oriented, they are applicable to other types of financial institutions too.
As Mike Ng, group chief sustainability officer of OCBC, commented at the launch of the guidelines, such efforts are particularly relevant in Asia, where coal-fired power plants still make up a significant share of power systems in many markets. The just transition tools provide a good starting point for financiers to guide their clients in the discussion about the just elements they need to consider when managing the transition to renewable energy.
Earlier this year, we saw several banks, including Japanese banks, pull out of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA). Climate Finance Asia has been active in Japan. What has been your experience with the banks and the backlash against climate targets?
To give some context on our work in Japan, in 2023, the Japanese government saw our track record in Hong Kong and invited us to set up a branch office in Tokyo. So over the last two to three years, we have expanded our work and deepened our impact there.
I see Japan’s climate finance landscape as evolving in a unique direction. While some banks have withdrawn from the NZBA, this doesn’t necessarily signal a retreat from decarbonisation. Japan is heavily invested in developing its own approach [that is] anchored in credibility, realism and industrial policy alignment.
A key development is the issuance of the Green Transformation (GX) bonds by the Japanese government. These are sovereign transition bonds aimed at mobilising around 20 trillion yen (US$135.5 billion) to support decarbonisation in hard-to-abate sectors such as steel, chemical and energy.
It is a very powerful example of how Japan is integrating fiscal policy, industrial strategy and climate finance. The GX bonds provide a reference for domestic financial institutions to develop their own transition finance instruments.
Let me share more examples from the Japanese banking sector. Megabanks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corproation (SMBC) and Mizuho have been actively supporting corporate transition plans through sustainability-linked loans and transition finance, particularly for energy-intensive industries. For example, MUFG financed JERA’s ammonia and coal co-firing pilot, a project which aligns with Japan’s roadmap for cleaner thermal power generation.
I would also like to highlight a recent study published by AIGCC about the state of climate transition investment in Japan. The survey, which covered 35 institutional investors with US$12.4 trillion in assets, found that Japanese investors are significantly ahead of regional peers in most aspect of climate action, including their commitments to reduce portfolio emissions, investing in climate action, solution stewardship, and reporting climate-related disclosures in line with international standards.
Compared to other Asian markets, Japan’s approach is less dependent on international concession finance and more focused on domestic innovation and regulatory alignment.
Do you see the backlash against environmental, social and governance (ESG) standards being less prominent in Asian markets?
Although the current administration of United States President Donald Trump is against climate change, sustainability, ESG, and even diversity, I see the private sector and investors keeping these topics high on their agenda.
One example is Michael Bloomberg, who announced in January that his foundation will step up to fund the UN’s climate change arm after Trump declared that he would withdraw the US from the Paris Agreement for a second time.
My personal experience with Climate Finance Asia’s working group on the just transition guidelines for banks are that there are US banks which have continued to participate, though they prefer to stay anonymous.
Many of them fully support us from behind the scenes and are keeping up the momentum on sustainability and climate action. They just might not be telling everyone in the public about it due to the current political climate.
You also volunteer as a weekend farmer and have pioneered several community-building networks. How do these initiatives, if at all, contribute to or affect your work in transition finance?
I have been using my professional skills to contribute to the community since 2008, first as a “social angel” in the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, for which I provide strategic and marketing advice to non-profits and social enterprises.
Having interacted with many social enterprises and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), I realised that what is happening in Hong Kong, which is probably similar to the rest of the world, is that 70 per cent of NGOs are under-resourced. They lack social capital, exposure and visibility, and their beneficiaries are even more vulnerable.
Alan To, chief executive officer of Climate Finance Asia, was recognised in the Sustainability Leadership A-List 2025. Image: Eco-Business
That was why we created Yum Cha Together as a platform to organise cultural dim sum events, inspired by my wife’s book of the same name. In Cantonese, a local phrase used to greet people is “dak haan hei yam cha” (let’s meet for tea when you’re free).
Through Yum Cha Together, we connect people from all walks of life, from NGOs and their beneficiaries to corporates, the general public, students and even top government officials in Hong Kong.
The other social enterprise I founded is called Aromafunapy, which is about well-being, nature and aromatherapy. I use my second profession as an aromatherapist to do social good for the community. These days, especially post-Covid-19, well-being and mental health have become a major social concern, whether among students, working adults or elderly people.
We have a herbal garden in New Territories in Hong Kong where we organise workshops to enable people to connect with essential elements of nature, by going on garden tours, harvesting herbs, and producing essential oils and hydrosol. We also instruct them how they can apply these oils to themselves and sustain their well-being.
How does this connects with what I do in my profession and to climate finance?
All these years, I have interacted with the grassroots and [engaged with] nature, while also interacting with senior executives and C-suite leaders in my professional life. These are two extremes on the social spectrum. I would say they live in parallel universes.
would like to make a call to action: I encourage senior executives and C-suite leaders not to just sit in the boardroom. Go out into the community, connect with nature, get inspired by what they see and what they can do to shape today’s sick earth into a sustainable planet.
Climate change impacts all of us. Agricultural products, for example, are very sensitive to climate change and extreme weather. Hong Kong is a very developed metropolitan city, but we have also been affected by extreme weather like flooding in the last couple of years.
Many of our neighbouring farms did not have any yield last year because of extreme weather – sometimes it was too hot, other times there was heavy rain.
These first-hand insights – from the community, from nature, from the farm – give my work in sustainability and climate finance a stronger purpose. The mission statement of Climate Finance Asia – to accelerate the transition to a net zero economy through mobilising green capital – connects very nicely [to these realities].
The interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Alan To was one of 10 sustainability leaders selected for the Eco-Business A-List 2025. Read our stories with the other winners here.
