In the Room Where Policy Meets Practice: Climate Bonds at the Japan–Singapore Partnership Programme

For the second consecutive year, Climate Bonds Initiative is back in Singapore, contributing to Introduction to Clean Energy Transitions towards Net Zero Target, a five-day programme bringing together mid- to senior-level government officials from across Asia to accelerate their countries' net zero agendas.

A Programme Built on 30 Years of Regional Trust

This course sits within the Japan–Singapore Partnership Programme for the 21st Century (JSPP21), jointly sponsored by Singapore's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through the Singapore Cooperation Programme (SCP) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Since 1994, Singapore and Japan have delivered approximately 400 courses for over 7,000 participants across fields spanning climate change, disaster management, and sustainable development, a track record that speaks for itself.

That foundation matters. As two of Asia-Pacific's financial and policy centres, Singapore and Japan bring more than bilateral goodwill to this programme. Their joint commitment to regional capacity-building on clean energy and climate carries influence well beyond their borders, and shapes the seriousness with which participating governments engage.

Our Session: Driving Credible Transition

Today in Singapore, Climate Bonds took the floor for module 3.3: Driving Credible Transition: Global Standards and ASEAN Pathways. This module was structured as a progression: from regional landscape, to national experience, to market infrastructure.

Ines Emir (Senior Technical Assistance Analyst) opened by exploring the links between the energy transition, energy security and financing needs in the context of ASEAN and the wider Asia-Pacific region. She also highlighted the role transition finance and sustainable debt markets can play as both financing tools and structural enablers of the energy transition. 

Yumiko Watanabe (Head of Japan Programme) opened with the foundations of transition finance, from investment gaps and credibility principles to the evolving roles of financial institutions and market actors. She then turned to Japan's own experience, examining the GX Strategy, transition bonds, and resilience finance as a case study in turning ambition into verifiable commitments.

Caline Tang (Taxonomy Manager) examined taxonomies as market infrastructure, deep diving into specific transition mechanisms incorporated across taxonomies that facilitate a credible and meaningful transition, allowing governments and investors make aligned decisions at scale.

The session closed with an interactive exercise, where delegates assessed the credibility of a transition strategy, turning framework into judgment, and theory into instinct. The discussion that followed was exactly the kind that reminds us why in-person dialogue still matters.

Sharing the Floor

We were fortunate to share the day with two exceptional colleagues whose contributions set the broader context for everything that followed.

Ms. Naoko Yago (Deputy Director, Southeast Asia Division 2, JICA) led multiple modules on Japan's climate-resilient development strategy and its cooperation with ASEAN countries. Her through-line across the day gave participants a grounded, policy-rooted perspective that complemented our own. 

Mr. Naoki Matsuo (Principal Policy Researcher, Strategic Management Office, IGES) brought analytical depth through sessions spanning long-term net zero energy system modelling, transitional strategies, carbon crediting mechanisms, and carbon pricing, covering the full arc from vision to implementation.

Looking Ahead

We're grateful to JICA, IGES, SCP/MFA Singapore, Temasek Polytechnic, and all programme partners for creating the conditions for these conversations. And to the delegates joining from across the region: we look forward to seeing these exchanges take root in your policy environments.

Read about our first year at JSPP21 here