The United Kingdom has launched a green transition investment initiative to help members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean) tackle climate change.
In an exclusive interview with the Bangkok Post, Sarah Tiffin, the UK Ambassador to Asean, said during a recent trip to Bangkok that the Southeast Asia region has been identified as one of the most vulnerable to climate change. The UK and Asean shared the same concerns over the green transition. While this region is driving economic progress, it faces its own challenges in regulating the increased carbon emissions accompanying rapid economic growth.
The UK then worked with the United Nations Economic & Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (Escap) to kick off the Asean Green Investment Catalyst initiative, which aims to promote sustainable foreign direct investment throughout Southeast Asia.
She said the UK government is currently contributing £2 million (about 85 million baht) to this programme through the Asean-UK Green Transition Fund to help the Asean Secretariat and member states implement the recently agreed Asean Regional Investment Promotion Action Plan, which was formally adopted by Asean Economic Ministers in September 2024.
The Action Plan represents Asean's first coordinated approach to attracting green investment across value chains, marking a significant shift towards regional collaboration in investment attraction for sustainable development.
The fund will also deliver capacity-building support to Asean Investment Promotion Agencies and contribute towards the Asean Investment Forum in 2025 and 2026 to showcase green investment-ready opportunities to investors.
"We, as the UK, are the newest dialogue partner, and we became Asean's partner three years ago. We are very new to this region, and we would like to really work closely with the Secretariat and with all Asean member states to understand how we can best work with Asean, where we can add the most value, where we can learn the most from each other through policy exchanges," she added.
The Asean Green Investment Catalyst initiative is aimed primarily at channelling foreign direct investment into important green industries critical to Asean's transition to low-carbon economies.
"The UK is delighted to support this innovative initiative that will help unlock green investment across Southeast Asia," she said.
"We are demonstrating the UK's leadership in climate finance and our commitment to supporting Asean's ambitious climate goals. This initiative exemplifies the transformative power of UK-Asean cooperation in accelerating the region's journey towards net-zero emissions while creating sustainable economic opportunities."
Asked how the UK could help Asean address green transition through this initiative, she said that encouraging the private sector to drive their investment into a green transition is considered a good start for the Asean region to address green transition.
She explained that the green transition proposal could be submitted to receive funding and there is no fixed idea for it.
"What we want to do is to encourage as many thoughts and proposals as possible from Asean member states and at the regional level across the themes of the programme, which, as I say, finance, policy-making, biodiversity, cities. Then we will assess projects and support the ones that we feel can add the most value and where we have the most value to add," she furthered.
"But the overall aim is to help Asean transition to a greener, more climate-resilient economy," she noted.
"If we can bring carbon emissions down, and if we can get economic growth booming, that's going to not only improve lives and livelihoods and the economy of this region but also tackle the looming crisis of climate change."
