[Webinar Highlights] Planning a Practical Just Transition: First Facility-level Guidelines for Banks, Insights and Opportunities to the Coal Phaseout

Available Here (Full webinar video link, report and tools of the F-JT Guidelines)

Date: 5 June 2025 (Thursday)

Time: 16:00 – 17:15 HKT (UTC+8) | 10:00 – 11:15 CET (UTC+1)

Format: Online via Zoom

Highlights

The session explored how to embed investment and social equity for a just energy transition:

Cedric from SMBC noted the guideline’s relevance beyond coal, including renewables and infrastructure in emerging markets. Lily from Climate Bonds Initiative raised the potential for policy integration, Cedric responded how SMBC may apply the guidelines with their internal policies and highlighted its value in assessing clients’ transition plans.

Desmond from OCBC emphasized the guideline as a shared reference point to align banks and developers on commercial viability and credible transition pathways. Justine stressed the importance of integrating guidance into existing due diligence systems. Andrea from Growald Climate Fund and Chaitra from AIGCC echoed the framework’s role in building cross-sector alignment and impact assessment.

Donald from CF Asia reminded us that the core of a Just Transition is not only technical design but also meaningful communication between banks, borrowers, and communities. The guidelines are poised to support sustainable finance across renewables, infrastructure, and other high-emission sectors.

About

Financial institutions are widely recognised as pivotal in mobilising energy transition efforts that support climate objectives, workers, and communities. However, coal phaseout poses complex socio-economic challenges for affected stakeholders.

The pioneering Facility-level Just Transition (F-JT) Guidelines for Banks were published in April 2025, demonstrating a path toward a clean energy future while supporting communities. The Facility-level Just Transition Working Group (F-JTWG) is comprised of 13 major global and regional banks, non-governmental organisations and philanthropies, with Climate Finance Asia serving as the secretariat. Our efforts have yielded practical guidelines for planning a coal phaseout at the facility level while fostering long-term local resilience.

In this launch webinar for the guidelines, representatives from leading financial institutions, including SMBC and OCBC, international organisations, and standard-setters will discuss the latest opportunities in transition finance, and how the new F-JT Guidelines can support risk mitigation, investment planning, and inclusive development. Speakers will share insights, real-world examples, and plans for adopting the guidelines, particularly for coal phaseouts and energy transition. Experts from NGOs will address the social challenges of transition, highlight the importance of collaboration, and discuss how the guidelines can benefit all stakeholders. The secretariat will also provide practical takeaways and outline future steps in financing a just transition.

Programme

Opening Remarks

Chong Chan Yau, MBE, Board Director, Climate Finance Asia

Keynote Speeches

Andrea Guerrero, Director – Field Innovation, Growald Climate Fund
Chaitra Nayak, Program Manager, Just Transition, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC)

Presentation – Introduction to the new Guidelines

Donald Eubank, Lead of the Secretariat for the Facility-level Just Transition Working Group, Climate Finance Asia

Panel Discussions – From Principles to Practice: Perspectives on the Collaborative Guidelines

Panellists:

Cedric Rimaud, Deputy General Manager, Sustainability Solution Department, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC)
Desmond Leung, Director – Global Wholesale Banking Sustainability Office, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC)
Justine Leigh-Bell, Executive Director, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute
Lily Burge, Policy Manager, Climate Bonds Initiative
Donald Eubank, Lead of the Secretariat for the Facility-level Just Transition Working Group, Climate Finance Asia

Moderator:

Alan To, Chief Executive Officer, Climate Finance Asia

Q&A from the audience

Speakers and Panellists (in order of appearance)

	Chong Chan Yau Board Director, Climate Finance Asia Chan Yau is a co-founder of Climate Finance Asia (previously known as Carbon Care Asia) and the Board Advisor of CarbonCare InnoLab (CCIL). He has served as an Executive Director of Oxfam Hong Kong and on the Board of Directors of Oxfam International, following a career in the Hong Kong Government and before joining the University of Hong Kong (HKU) as the Director of Student Development. Chan Yau has advised on sustainability issues as a member of the Education and Publicity Subcommittee in the Council for Sustainable Development of the Hong Kong SAR Government. Recognized with an MBE and several leadership awards, he is a respected advocate for inclusive, sustainable development and social equity in climate justice.
	Andrea Guerrero Director – Field Innovation, Growald Climate Fund Andrea directs Growald Climate Fund’s work on field innovation, an area that seeks to address bottlenecks in energy transition through supporting innovative initiatives, research, and strategic convening. Prior to joining Growald, Andrea was part of the UN Secretary-General’s climate team. Before that, she was part of the Mission 2020 team and worked with various development agencies. She worked for 12 years for the Colombian government as director of climate change in the Ministry of Environment and director of economic, social, and environmental affairs in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. She helped develop the country’s first climate policies and international positions on climate and other social, economic, and environmental issues.
	Chaitra Nayak Program Manager, Just Transition, Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC) Chaitra has over nine years of diverse experience in sustainable finance across consulting and capital markets. She has worked in technical and management environmental consulting at Arcadis, KPMG, and Trucost S&P Global. She has led responsible investment functions, both on the sell-side and in asset management, at Axis Capital and DSP Asset Managers, respectively. Chaitra has a strong foundation in climate risk analysis for corporates and financial institutions. She is passionate about advancing sustainable investments in Asia and has contributed climate finance thought leadership to leading outlets. She also serves on the Asia Pacific Regional Council for the Taskforce on Inequality and Social-related Financial Disclosures (TISFD).
	Cedric Rimaud Deputy General Manager, Sustainability Solution Department, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) With over 20 years of experience in fund management, including more than a decade at top investment banks (JP Morgan, Citi, and Credit Suisse), Cedric has been managing fixed income portfolios and analyzing corporate bonds, primarily at an independent credit research firm. He has been managing teams of analysts and serving as a principal for small investment teams in various roles. Before joining SMBC, Cedric represented the Climate Bonds Initiative and the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute in Southeast Asia, based in Singapore. He holds a Business Degree from EM Lyon (with an exchange at Waseda University), a Master’s in Finance from London Business School, and recently completed the joint EMBA of INSEAD in Singapore and Tsinghua University. Cedric is a CFA charter holder and member of CFA Society Japan.
	Desmond Leung Director, Sustainability Stewardship Group, Global Wholesale Banking Sustainability Office, Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Limited (OCBC) As a member of the Sustainability Stewardship Group in OCBC, Desmond partners closely with Wholesale banking business teams to evaluate clients, projects and transactions, ensuring environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks are effectively assessed and mitigated. His work supports the bank’s commitment to responsible financing and sustainable growth. Prior to joining OCBC, Desmond was an ESG Consultant for 11 years, specializing in Environmental Site Assessments (Phase I & II) and Environmental & Social Due Diligence.
	Justine Leigh-Bell Executive Director, Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute Justine has over 15 years of experience at the forefront of sustainable fixed income and climate policy. In her current role, she directs the investor-focused institute’s strategic initiatives and manages its efforts to support asset owners and fund managers in aligning their credit portfolio strategies with climate transition targets. She previously served as the Deputy CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative, where she led a diverse global team and advised governments on sovereign green bonds aligned to national climate policies. Justine has a proven track record in building and scaling market-focused nonprofit organisations that deliver significant climate impact. She is also an advisor to various climate-focused organisations and initiatives.
	Lily Burge Policy Manager, Climate Bonds Initiative Lily is a Policy Manager at Climate Bonds Initiative, an investor-focused international organisation working to mobilise capital markets for climate action. She specialises in just transition, greening development finance institutions and policies to tilt economies to meet 1.5°C and has authored multiple publications including ‘101 Sustainable Finance Policies for 1.5°C’ and ‘The Role of Development Finance Institutions in Accelerating the Mobilisation of Green Capital’ and contributed to the IPCC AR6. She has developed sustainable finance policy recommendations for multiple jurisdictions including in the UK, EU, Central Asia, and ASEAN.
	Donald Eubank Senior Consultant, Climate Finance Asia Lead of the Secretariat for the Facility-level Just Transition Working Group Donald is an experienced strategic planner whose career spans the IT, finance, media and environmental services industries. As a cofounder of advisory firm Read the Air, Donald has been a key partner for organizations that seek to create corporate value by developing sustainable business and decarbonization strategies. He is a co-author of ‘Leading Sustainably—The Path to Sustainable Business and How the SDGs Changed Everything’ (Routledge) and a contributor to ‘The Handbook of Climate Change Leadership in Organisations’. Donald established the Sustainability Roundtable at Temple University Japan and has guest lecturered at Ban Ki-moon ESG Academy, Waseda Business School, and Hitotsubashi ICS.
	Alan To Chief Executive Officer, Climate Finance Asia Alan is a senior ESG and sustainability marketing leader with over 20 years of experience managing global and regional initiatives for companies such as S&P Global, ERM, Lloyd’s Register, and Bayer. He has led award-winning ESG campaigns and managed complex sustainability investments, including a US$100M eco-commercial plant project in China for Bayer. With a strong background in strategic planning and project execution across the energy and industrial sectors, Alan brings deep expertise in navigating ESG regulations and stakeholder engagement in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. He also actively promotes social innovation and sustainable development in Hong Kong through mentorship and public sector advisory roles.