BDO Unibank Inc. (BDO), along with leading Asian banks, has published the Asia Transition Finance Annual Report 2024 to help Asian economies achieve a “just and orderly transition” toward a more sustainable future. 

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. The ATF Study Group was set up in recognition of the important role that transition finance (TF) will play in helping Asian economies address challenges as they move toward net-zero emissions. Its goal is to create practical recommendations to supplement existing frameworks, including global standards and taxonomies, when financial institutions (FIs) consider and assess TF cases, as well as to understand challenges and explore potential enablers to transition finance. 

This year, the ATF Annual Report 2024 was created after months of discussion among the core members, composed primarily of commercial banks. Development banks, export credit agencies, public agencies, and finance associations joined as observers and knowledge contributors. Energy and industry players, insurance and guarantee providers, and advisors also participated as guest speakers to share their perspectives.

The ATF Annual Report 2024 describes how transition projects can become feasible and bankable by mitigating and allocating risks through public and private sector collaboration. This fundamental issue, identified during discussions in 2022 and 2023, is crucial for enabling FIs to engage in transition projects. The Study Group considers that understanding the main risks of transition projects and how each risk can be addressed by both public and private sectors would foster coherent collaboration among all stakeholders.

As a founding core member of the ATF Study Group since 2021, BDO, along with other Asian financial institutions, believes that its sustainability journey will be more gradual in pace compared to counterpart banks in Europe and the United States. But in collaborating with others, the Bank welcomes the opportunity to bring everyone towards 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, towards funding new and existing renewable energy projects to increase their capacity, and support the country’s avoidance of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.

The Asia Transition Finance Annual Report 2024 is available at https://www.atfsg.org/report/asia-transition-finance-study-group-atf-sg-annual-report-2024

Asia Transition Finance Study Group Website: https://www.atfsg.org/