Singapore has launched the Scaling Projects and Investments for Resilience in Asia Program (SPIRE Asia), a regional initiative to attract private investment into climate adaptation for Southeast Asia’s agri-food systems.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) said the program includes a blended finance fund with a target size of up to $500 million. Singapore’s ambassador for climate action, Ravi Menon, launched the program at the COP31.
Menon said the issue is not only the amount of finance available. “Relative to its needs, Asia is the most underserved by adaptation finance,” he said, citing an annual regional need of up to $400 billion against actual flows of $34 billion in 2021 and 2022. Globally, agri-food systems received just 20 percent of adaptation finance, though they account for 54 percent of costed adaptation needs in developing countries’ national plans, the ambassador added.
Climate change is raising risks for the region’s farms and food supply chains, as higher temperatures, shifting rainfall, and extreme weather disrupt production and livelihoods. Menon said Singapore’s interest is direct. “For Singapore, which imports more than 90 percent of its food, regional food resilience is part of our own food security,” he said.
Many promising adaptation projects struggle to attract finance because they are too small, too early in development or lack the data investors need. Menon said consultations with more than 60 stakeholders, including development banks, investors, philanthropies and agri-businesses, identified three gaps: data, projects and financing.
SPIRE Asia has three linked pillars. The first is a data platform, which will bring together climate, agricultural and investment datasets. Enterprise Singapore will lead it, and it will include a Solutions Centre for Regional Smallholder Farmers that Singapore is setting up with ecosystem partners.
The second is a market development facility, led by Temasek Trust, which will turn small farm-level projects into investment-ready portfolios and connect them with investors, buyers and implementation partners.
The third is a blended finance fund, with a target size of up to $500 million, which will use catalytic capital to absorb specific risks and attract commercial lenders.
A steering committee of the National Climate Change Secretariat, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Enterprise Singapore, and Temasek Trust will coordinate the three pillars.