Ghislaine 

NADAUD

Ghislaine Nadaud is Director (Sustainable Investing) at Robeco, leading the firm’s engagement programs on human rights, the just transition and transition minerals in Asia Pacific and supporting the investment and sales teams in Asia Pacific with client engagement related to sustainable investment strategies and holdings in the Asia Pacific portfolios. She also leads the sovereign engagement initiatives in APAC such as the UNPRI Collaborative Sovereign Engagement on Climate Change.

Ghislaine started her career as an attorney and practised corporate and employment law in The Hague and Amsterdam. She joined ABN AMRO as a legal counsel in 2006 and moved into her specialisation in sustainable banking policy and risk management in 2011. In 2016, she moved to Asia to set up ABN AMRO’s first ever regional sustainability department for its corporate and institutional banking business. After a short assignment at the United Nations as a sustainable financing consultant, Ghislaine joined Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) in 2021 to lead and drive SMBC’s ESG ambitions in Asia-Pacific.

Selected Presentations

• Moderator, Just Transition in Southeast Asia, APCEL NUS Law, 7 August 2025
• Panellist, Towards Net Zero Conference: Legal Aspects of Corporate Climate Action in Asia,  premiered 17 Oct 2024
• Panellist, Asia in Focus: ESG Investing and the Business and Human Rights Agenda,  premiered 13 June 202

Selected Publications

• ‘APCEL Policy Brief: Exploring a Just Transition in Southeast Asia‘ (2025), APCEL-PP-2501, co-edited with Dr Linda Yanti Sulistiawati and Ms Yang Huiwen.

• Environmental Regulations & Financial Institutions
• Sustainable Finance
• Business and Human Rights (UNGP)
• Climate Change and Access to Justice
• Corporates & Sustainability

Research Project

The role of Standard Setting and Financing in achieving a Just Transition

This research project investigates how standard setting and innovative financing mechanisms can work together to deliver a credible, financially viable, and socially inclusive climate transition in Southeast Asia. Central to this inquiry is the ‘fair share principle’ embedded in the Paris Agreement, which recognizes that countries have ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’ for climate mitigation. Industrialized nations, having contributed most to historical emissions and possessing greater financial resources, are expected to decarbonize earlier, while developing regions are afforded more time for their emissions to peak and decline. This principle is reflected in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), which set country-level targets and shape the decarbonization strategies of companies and the markets in which they operate.

The research highlights that these standards are not merely theoretical—they directly influence sectoral decarbonization pathways and how company climate performance is measured. For example, sector-specific benchmarks and taxonomies help ensure that companies are assessed fairly, taking into account their operating context and national commitments. However, a significant gap remains between climate finance flows and the social needs of transition. Recent findings show that less than 1% of global public energy spending is allocated to social protection, reskilling, and livelihood support, with only a small fraction of major transition funds targeting community benefits directly.

To address this gap, the research emphasizes the urgent need for policies and regional standards that clearly define what constitutes just transition finance and embed robust social safeguards. Financial instruments—such as blended finance structures and transition bonds—must evolve to incorporate human rights, community engagement, and measurable social outcomes. By embedding these priorities into taxonomies and due diligence processes, policies can ensure that investments not only support decarbonization but also deliver tangible improvements for workers and vulnerable groups.

Ultimately, aligning standard setting with innovative financing is essential for building trust and legitimacy in climate action. When policies and financial tools prioritize community benefits, reskilling, and inclusive development, the climate transition becomes not only technically and financially feasible, but also socially just—ensuring that no one is left behind as Southeast Asia moves toward a low-carbon future.