THE GOVERNMENT will launch a sustainable finance roadmap on Wednesday to address the country’s policy and regulatory gaps in promoting sustainable investments, the Department of Finance (DoF) said.

The blueprint will address “policy and regulatory gaps in promoting sustainable investments through finance, implementing sustainable government initiatives, facilitating investments in public infrastructure, and developing projects that promote sustainable financing in the Philippines,” the DoF said in a statement on Monday.

Sustainable investors strongly consider both financial returns and environmental and social impact in their decision making.

The interagency technical working group on sustainable finance is composed of the DoF and the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), in partnership with the British Embassy in Manila.

The roadmap will tackle sustainable financing based on three pillars: policy, financing, and investments. It will be paired with a set of guide principles “that will serve as taxonomy for the sustainable finance ecosystem in the Philippines.”

These principles are aligned with Southeast Asian standards for green bonds, the European Union taxonomy, and other international standards for green finance principles, the DoF said.

“The Roadmap and its Guiding Principles are expected to spur investments from various financing sources to support the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution and long-term priorities,” DoF added.

The blueprint was developed under the United Kingdom (UK) government’s Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Low Carbon Energy Programme (ALCEP).

The low carbon energy program was designed to help ASEAN member countries access UK technical knowledge on green finance and energy efficiency. Through the UK Prosperity Fund, the £15 million in aid backs technical assistance, capacity building, and policy advice in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

The BSP in July said that there is a need for more sustainable financing in response to concerns about climate change impacts on bank operations.

BSP Governor Benjamin E. Diokno had said that the bank will continue to aim for increasing green bond holdings and will assess climate change vulnerabilities. — Jenina P. Ibañez

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