Personal investment ‘ may assist’ with shift
PUBLISHED: 1 Jan 2025 at 06: 32
To assist members of the Association of South East Asian Nations ( Asean ) in addressing climate change, the United Kingdom has launched a green transition investment initiative.
The UK Ambassador to Asean, Sarah Tiffin, stated in an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post that Southeast Asia is one of the most resilient to climate change during a recent visit to Bangkok. Both Asean and the UK shared the same fears about the natural transition. While this area is advancing financial growth, it has its own problems regulating the rising carbon emissions that come with rapid economic growth.
The UK then joined forces with the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ( Escap ) to launch the Asean Green Investment Catalyst initiative, which aims to promote sustainable foreign direct investment throughout Southeast Asia.
She claimed that the UK government is currently funding this initiative with a £2 million ( approximately 85 million baht ) grant through the Asean-UK Green Transition Fund to aid the Asean Secretariat and its member states in implementing the recently agreed Asean Regional Investment Promotion Action Plan, which was formally approved by Asean Economic Ministers in September 2024.
The Action Plan represents Asean’s first planned strategy for attracting alternative investment across worth chains, a major shift in regional cooperation in the promotion of responsible development.
The bank will also provide Asean Investment Promotion Agencies with capacity-building assistance, and it will also help the Asean Investment Forum in 2025 and 2026 to promote alternative investment options to investors.
” We, as the UK, are the newest speech spouse, and we became Asean’s companion three years ago. We are brand-new to this area, and we want to work closely with the Secretariat and all Southeast member states to figure out how to work together finest, where policy exchanges can be most useful, and where we can add the most worth, she said.
The Asean Green Investment Catalyst effort aims generally to facilitate foreign direct investment in crucial alternative sectors that are essential to Asean’s changeover to low-carbon societies.
She stated,” The UK is delighted to support this cutting-edge program that will help activate alternative funding across Southeast Asia.”
We are demonstrating the UK’s authority in climate financing and our commitment to supporting Asean’s optimistic climate targets. This program exemplifies the transformative power of UK-Asean participation in promoting the region’s transition to zero emissions while also providing for sustainable financial opportunities.
When asked how the UK might support Asean’s natural change effort, she said that encouraging the private business to generate their investment into a natural transition is regarded as a good place to begin the Asean region’s green transition process.
She explained that there is no fixed plan for a natural transition proposal and that it could be submitted to receive funding.
” What we want to do is to stimulate as many thoughts and ideas as possible from Asean member states and at the local level across the themes of the project, which, as I say, financing, policy-making, wildlife, cities. Then, she continued, we will evaluate projects and help those that we believe is add the most value and those that we believe are most valuable.”
” But the general purpose is to enable Asean transition to a brighter, more climate-resilient economy”, she noted.
” If we can reduce carbon emissions, and if we can encourage economic growth, that’s going to increase lives and livelihoods and the regional economy as well as address the looming crises of climate alter,” said one analyst.