ASEAN needs US$3t in green investment from 2016 to 2030

Investment needs to grow 400% per year.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) needs to increase green investment by 400% a year between 2016 and 2030 to protect its people and economies from climate change and other environmental hazards, according to the Green Finance Needs in Asean report released by DBS and UN Environment Inquiry.

This represents a new ASEAN green investment that’s 37 times the size of the global 2016 green bond market.

Current ASEAN green investment is estimated at US$40b against an annual need of US$200b which needs to be spread across infrastructure, renewable energy, energy efficiency, and food, agriculture and land use.

Indonesia will require the largest volume of green finance, according to the report.

Research from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) shows that ASEAN countries face higher exposure and vulnerability to environmental risks than the global average.

“Green investment in the ASEAN region can transform the region into a green economic powerhouse that supports a growing population, and provides returns for investors,” said Dr. Ma Jun, UN Environment’s Special Advisor on Sustainable Finance and Co-chair of G20 Green Finance Study Group.

The report acknowledged the daunting task of scaling up green finance but noted that undertaking initiatives to ensure sufficient environmental disclosure from companies and developing green investment platforms, asset pipelines and green finance roadmaps could help in delivering the required amount of green investment for the region.