Mukhtar Babayev, COP29 president and an oil industry veteran, detailed how he would prioritise a voluntary fund that should see fossil fuel producers contributing to it. Azerbaijan has not taken a hard stance on carbon-emitting dirty fuels so far, focusing instead on energy storage initiatives.
Securing finance for the "loss and damage" fund to help climate-vulnerable nations is now in question after rich countries refused to put it within the scope of a new climate finance goal at a technical briefing ahead of the climate talks.
Vorapongse joins the parent group of Bangkok-based Siam Commercial Bank with an ambition to decarbonise its lending and investment portfolio by 2050. He previously helped develop a net zero action plan for Singapore's central bank.
Zhi Ling Wong, who spent over a decade developing ESG risk frameworks for the British lender in response to global regulations, is one of the key APAC appointments the life insurer has made after its sustainability revamp in 2023.