With the view to achieve a ‘just and orderly transition’ towards a more sustainable future for Asian economies, the Philippines’ leading bank BDO Unibank Inc (BDO), has released the Asia Transition Finance Annual Report 2023, along with other leading banks from Asia.
BDO is a member of The Asian Transition Finance (ATF) Study Group, a private-led initiative whose core participants are banks with operations in Asia. ATF Study Group recognises the critical role of transition finance (TF) in helping Asian economies address challenges as they move toward net-zero emissions. The ATF’s goals involve practical recommendations to supplement existing frameworks, including global standards and taxonomies, as financial institutions (FIs) assess TF cases. Its mandate also extends to understanding challenges and exploring potential enablers to transition finance.
In 2022, the ATF Study Group published the ATF guidelines to provide transition finance practitioners with a practical guide to assess projects. The group simultaneously published the ATF SG Activity Report to share the challenges and suggested support measures to accelerate TF in Asia. These outcomes were introduced at the Asian Green Growth Partnership Ministerial Meetings (AGGPM) in September 2022.
This year, the ATF SG Annual Report 2023 was created after months of discussion among core members, composed primarily of commercial banks. Development banks, export credit agencies, public agencies, finance associations, and SPOs came on board as observers and knowledge contributors. Energy and industry players also participated as guest speakers to share their perspectives.
The ATF Annual Report 2023 describes certain advancements in the seven support measures suggested in last year’s report. This year’s ATF Study Group mentions more granular enablers needed to accelerate transition finance. Progress in these areas requires a coherent collaboration among all stakeholders, especially public authorities, TF receivers, and FIs.
As a founding core member of the ATF Study Group since 2021, BDO believes that its sustainability journey, along with other Asian financial institutions, will be more gradual in pace compared to counterpart banks in Europe and the United States. But in collaborating with others, BDO welcomes the opportunity to have everyone move in the same direction and better manage the energy transition for Asian nations.
BDO will continue to expand its sustainable finance initiatives, in place since 2010. The goal remains funding an increase in the capacity of existing renewable energy projects, as well as new projects in this space and supporting an avoidance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
The ATF Study Group will continue with more focus on collaboration with public authorities and TF receivers to deliver FI’s views on enablers. Supported by their experiences as TF practitioners, as well as peer learnings, this will bring a deeper understanding and practical knowledge about various transition finance guidelines and country policies including national taxonomies, and the development of TFFs by FIs.
The full Asia Transition Finance Annual Report 2023 can be downloaded here.
