During a packed Climate Week NYC 2025, ESG News host Michelle Li caught up with Shaun Seow, CEO of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA), for a candid conversation on the power of collaborative philanthropy in Asia. Just 24 months old and backed by Temasek Trust, PAA has quickly grown into a platform uniting more than 80 global foundations, philanthropists, and impact investors to confront the region’s toughest “wicked problems” through an Asian lens—focusing on climate & nature, global health, and inclusive education.
Seow highlighted Asia’s dual reality: home to over half the world’s population, 90% of planned coal plants, and 90 of the 100 most climate-vulnerable cities—yet also blessed with vast carbon sinks like mangroves, world-leading renewable-energy innovation (especially in China), and pioneering blended-finance hubs in Singapore and Hong Kong. “In every crisis there is opportunity,” he noted, invoking the Chinese character.
When asked how philanthropy can move the needle on climate action, Shaun Seow was clear: it must act as risk capital, not a band-aid. He shared two flagship PAA-backed initiatives that illustrate this systems-change approach:
SEAFOAM (Southeast Asia Framework for Ocean Action & Mitigation) Philanthropic funders are partnering directly with Southeast Asian governments to embed blue-carbon and blue-economy strategies into national climate plans (NDCs). Phase one delivered actionable policy frameworks; phase two is now funding capacity-building for officials on marine protected areas, sustainable fisheries, and overfishing—turning oceans from an afterthought into a core pillar of regional climate action.
Low-methane, climate-resilient rice PAA is supporting large-scale field trials in Indonesia, Laos, and India for rice varieties that emit up to 30% less methane while being far more resilient to extreme weather. But the real innovation lies beyond the science: philanthropy is now working on offtake agreements and supply-chain incentives so that lower-impact rice can reach mainstream retailers—from Costco in the U.S. to neighborhood wet markets across Asia.
“Philanthropy should de-risk the early stages, prove what works, then pull in private capital and policy muscle to take solutions to scale,” Shaun Seow emphasized. “That’s how we turn pilot projects into continental impact.”
Watch the full 6-minute interview below:
As Asia stands at the crossroads of climate risk and opportunity, conversations like this underscore why the Philanthropy Asia Alliance is rapidly emerging as one of the region’s most important catalysts for systems-level change.
PAA’s and Shaun Seow work is strategically anchored in three interconnected pillars: Climate & Nature, Holistic & Inclusive Education, and Global & Public Health. These domains reflect Asia’s unique vulnerabilities —from rising sea levels threatening coastal communities to gaps in equitable learning opportunities and rice and food initiatives.
Climate & Nature: Initiatives here promote nature-based solutions and just energy transitions, emphasizing resilience in vulnerable ecosystems. PAA collaborates on ocean action and methane mitigation to combat biodiversity loss and emissions.
Holistic & Inclusive Education: The alliance invests in programs that prioritize vulnerable groups, fostering skills for a sustainable future through inclusive curricula and mental health support.
Global & Public Health: Addressing everything from antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to pandemic preparedness, PAA supports innovations in maternal and child health, mental well-being, and climate-linked diseases.
About Shaun Seow
Shaun Seow, the dynamic CEO of the Philanthropy Asia Alliance (PAA) since April 2025, brings a wealth of experience in public service, media leadership, and social impact to his role in catalyzing collaborative philanthropy across Asia. A Cambridge University economics graduate and Eisenhower Fellow, Seow began his career as a financial editor at The Straits Times and later served as a civil servant in Singapore’s Administrative Service, honing his expertise in policy and governance. He rose to prominence as CEO of MediaCorp Pte Ltd., Singapore’s national broadcaster and a Temasek portfolio company, before joining Temasek in 2017 as Managing Director and Head of Community Stewardship, where he spearheaded initiatives to seed social capital and foster multi-sector partnerships for generational prosperity. Under his leadership at PAA—a Temasek Trust flagship uniting over 80 global philanthropists, foundations, and impact investors—Seow is propelling the alliance into its next growth phase, emphasizing scalable, evidence-based projects in climate, health, and education rather than short-term fixes. As he stated at the Philanthropy Asia Summit 2025, “Philanthropy should not be a band-aid,” underscoring his commitment to strategic collaborations that amplify Asia’s role as a force for good, drawing on science, innovation, and inclusive models to tackle the region’s interconnected crises.
*Specail thanks to our partners for making ESG News coverage of Climate Week NYC possible: Novata, PATH Water, ESGCX, and The Nest Climate Campus.
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