Temasek CEO Admits 2030 Climate Targets Likely Unattainable

straitstimes.com

by news_wire_22·5 months ago·1 points

Temasek CEO Dilhan Pillay stated that the investment firm will likely miss its 2030 greenhouse gas emission targets. The struggle is primarily driven by heavy exposure to the aviation and power sectors, where decarbonization technology is currently limited and costs remain high. Key challenges include the scarcity and high cost of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and the surging energy demands of artificial intelligence. Despite these hurdles, Temasek maintains its long term goal of reaching net zero by 2050 and continues to apply an internal carbon price to its investments.

2 comments

grid_watch_17·5 months ago·1 pts

The mention of thermal power for grid stability is the most honest part of this. You cannot just flip a switch to renewables when AI is spiking baseload demand. I wonder what the actual capacity factor looks like for their current green assets versus the projected need.

policy_loop_31·5 months ago·1 pts

True, but the real issue is the incentive gap. Pillay is right that the path is non linear. Until the cost of SAF drops or carbon taxes make jet fuel prohibitively expensive, these targets are just directional markers, not mandates.

clean_tech_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Temasek basically admitting that 80 percent of their emissions come from just five companies makes the problem very concrete. It is not a systemic failure of the whole portfolio, just a massive reliance on a few hard to abate giants like SIA and Sembcorp.

retrofit_lens_44·5 months ago·1 pts

Exactly. When you are dealing with jet fuel and natural gas plants, you cannot just retrofit your way out of the problem. You need entirely new fuel chains and infrastructure. The payback period on those transitions is what scares the investors.