RUNDOWN

5:00 pm Registration 
5:30 pm Networking Drinks 
6:00 pm Opening Remarks and Book Introduction 
6:15 pm Panel Discussions 
7:25 pm Closing Remarks 

HK$100/pax ASHK Member
HK$150/pax Non-Member

As more than half of the planet's CO2 is emitted in the Asia-Pacific, there is no avoiding the fact that Asia must become a leader in the global fight against climate change. While the Asia-Pacific is the region most vulnerable to desertification, flooding, and sea level rise, it also has tremendous resources, including most of the planet's people, megacities, and renewable energy capacity, and must bring all of these resources to bear if they are to reach net zero by 2050.

Join Asia Society Hong Kong Center for a presentation and panel discussion on Decarbonizing Asia, a new book that explores the intersection of decarbonization, innovation, and the Asia-Pacific and provides a snapshot of initiatives by industry leaders and the public sector to reduce emissions.  We will hear from a panel of contributors to the book, as well as from a panel of business leaders whose operations and investments will be critical to the de-carbonization efforts of the coming decades.

Panelists

Sandro Desideri is a former GE Energy executive that has been working in the sectors of Power generation, Oil & Gas, Smart Grid, Clean Tech, Renewables and Smart City for over 30 years, in different places around the world (Europe, Houston, Singapore, Melbourne, Hong Kong), with 28 years of experience in doing business in Asia. Sandro is the co-founder of IANUS ET Pty. Ltd., an Asia based firm focused on Energy Transition and Net Zero Projects, and the co-founder of Link4Success Ltd., a Hong Kong firm focused on supporting the scale up and commercialization requirements for original equipment manufacturers, small and medium enterprises, and startups operating in the sector of technological innovation. 

James Kruger is a former investment banker, global general counsel and integrity officer for Macquarie Group Limited. He now consults in the supply chain for critical minerals helping with the financing of new projects and the industry and policy settings so to expand and develop new ESG-effective supply chains. He is also a technology investor, and is chairman of an ASX-listed investment vehicle Powerhouse Ventures Limited as well as board member and advisor for several deep tech companies helping solve global problems. 

Christine Loh is the chief development strategist at Institute for the Environment, Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. A lawyer by training and commodities trader by profession, Dr. Loh has spent the bulk of her career in public policy and politics, first serving as a legislator, and then government minister in the Environment Bureau in Hong Kong. She was the CEO of a policy think tank and is a published author of many academic and popular works. She is a director of for-profit and non-profit organizations, and she also advises multinational companies. 

Elsa Pau is the founder and CEO of BlueOnion, an ESG analytic platform that exposes greenwashing behavior and promotes responsible capitalism and investing across the entire financial ecosystem. Elsa is a finance industry veteran who focuses on sustainable, responsible, and impact investing. She advocates for investor protection and drives compelling propositions that benefit real change for the finance community. Before creating BlueOnion, she was the Owner-operator of the 25-year-old publication, Benchmark, and a series of Wealth and Asset Management Awards Programs, Forums, and Quality Study operated under the Benchmark brand. Elsa has a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Florida International University and a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from the University of Florida. She currently serves as an investment governor of a family office in Asia and a Committee member of the Hong Kong Council of Social Services Development Fund.

Alexandra Tracy is President of Hoi Ping Ventures, Hong Kong, which she founded to provide research and consulting on green finance and sustainable investment in Asian emerging markets. She is currently Private Sector Observer to the World Bank's Climate Investment Funds, having for several years served as Active Private Sector Observer to the United Nations Green Climate Fund. She is also Chairman of the Financial Services Research Group, an independent think tank in Hong Kong. Alexandra is a director of RIMM Sustainability Pte. Ltd. in Singapore and sits on a number of advisory boards, including Carbonless Asia. 

Albert Wong has been CEO of Hong Kong Science & Technology Parks Corporation (HKSTP) since 2016, leading his team to grow HKSTP into Hong Kong’s home for unicorns and the city’s largest R&D hub with over 11,000 research professionals and 1,100 tech companies. Albert has 30-plus years of commercial, industrial and leadership experience through roles with various multinationals that have provided him with deep China and Asia-Pacific insight, plus critical understanding of building companies and investment networks, and solving market needs. Prior to HKSTP, he spent 15 years in total with GE at its US headquarters, Asia-Pacific and China. He served as CEO, GE Oil & Gas China, as well as CEO, GE Industrial Solutions Asia Pacific – where he was responsible for M&A, Business Development, Product Management and Business Operations. Prior to GE, he held management and engineering roles at PerkinElmer, Emerson, Caterpillar and Schlumberger. Albert holds an Engineering Degree from the University of Hong Kong and an MBA from the Chinese University of Hong Kong. 

Olivia Wong is MTR Corporation Limited’s General Manager for Environmental & Social Responsibility and is responsible for formulating and implementing clear and effective strategies in achieving MTR's social and environmental objectives and in championing the corporation's ESG efforts and commitments. Prior to joining MTR, Olivia spent 30+ years with the Swire group in different business units including Cathay Pacific and Swire Properties. Her most recent role in John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd was the Group Head of Diversity & Inclusion. Olivia was previously Director HR & Administration at Swire Properties Ltd and General Manager – Leadership Development at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd, and Managing Director at Ethos International Ltd, with responsibility for recruiting and fostering talent for the Swire Group. She joined Cathay Pacific as management trainee and had almost 20 years of broad management experience in Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong, South East Asia and Europe. Olivia graduated with a Bachelor of Social Sciences degree from the University of California, Berkeley. She also has an MBA from the University of Michigan. 

Moderator

Grace Hui has more than twenty years of international and domestic banking and finance industry experience. From 2013 until early 2022, Prof. Hui was a senior executive with Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) during which she spearheaded regular reviews of HKEX’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Reporting Guide and in 2020, initiated a new business for HKEX in green and sustainable finance and founded HKEX’s Sustainable and Green Exchange (STAGE).

In 2021, Ms. Hui drove and led discussions with government agencies and regulators including the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Securities and Futures Commission on market development and carbon market workstream in order to develop Hong Kong into a regional green finance center. Ms. Hui is currently an independent non-executive director of a company listed on HKEX.  She is an adjunct professor in the Division of Environment and Sustainability at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, an honorary adviser to the Accounting and Financial Reporting Council (AFRC); a member of both the AFRC’s Inspection Committee and the AFRC’s Sustainability and Climate Action Task Force; a member of the Sustainability Committee of The Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants; and a member of both the Finance Management Committee and the Global Centre for ESG Education and Research Advisory Committee of the Hong Kong Management Association.  Ms. Hui graduated from The London School of Economics and Political Science with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Sciences. She is also a qualified lawyer in Hong Kong and in England and Wales.

Presenter and Moderator

Ágoston Tony Verb is a Hungarian entrepreneur, investor and film producer with more than 12 years of experience Asia, based in Hong Kong and Singapore. Tony has been working to accelerate the growth of technology companies with a positive impact on urbanization under his "Urban Tech with Impact" thesis. He does this primarily through Carbonless Asia with the mission to help decarbonize Asia's cities and industries with the largest carbon footprint. Tony is also partner of GreaterBayX a China-focused urban technology investment platform. Amongst other accolades, he is a proud alumni member of the Global Shapers Community of the World Economic Forum. 

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.