The ASEAN Green Map project engaged central banks, ministries of finance, capital-market and insurance regulators, and development partners from all ten ASEAN Member States. It provided ASEAN’s first cohesive vision for scaling up sustainable finance, linking policy ambition with financial-sector practice. Through desk research, structured interviews, and a workshop with national and regional regulators as well as regional centres of expertise, the team mapped existing regional sustainable-finance frameworks, from taxonomies and disclosure rules to green-bond guidelines and incentive schemes. This comparative lens helped identify where ASEAN already demonstrates leadership (for instance the ASEAN Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance) and where further alignment is needed (such as in data transparency and supervisory capacity).
Southeast Asia is widely recognised as one of the regions most exposed to climate impacts, and its financial systems have a central role to play in mobilising the investment needed for resilience and low-carbon growth. Therefore, ASEAN identified the need for a regional framework to chart the next decade of sustainable-finance development across ASEAN.
Rather than viewing sustainable finance through the lens of individual policies or instruments, the ASEAN Green Map adopts an ecosystem approach, recognising that transformation depends on the interaction of markets, regulations, institutions and stakeholder capabilities.
To capture these interconnections, the Green Map addresses markets, development-finance incentives, transparency and disclosure, supervisory risk management and the cross-cutting enablers of coordination and capability.
The importance of the Green Map was formally recognised at the 12th ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM) on 10th April 2025, where ASEAN leaders commended its accomplishment as part of the region’s sustainable finance agenda (see paragraph 24 of the Joint Statement). This endorsement elevates the Green Map to a regionally acknowledged framework supporting ASEAN’s priorities under the “Just and Orderly Transition” agenda.
Each building block represents both an area for policy making and a potential collaboration space, i.e. a space where regulators, financial institutions, the wider private sector and development partners should act together to advance sustainable finance in the ASEAN region.
The Green Map shows that sustainable finance development in ASEAN is not constrained by lack of interest but rather by systemic gaps between ambition and implementation. Key findings are:
These findings highlight that sustainable finance requires sustained system-building, an ongoing process rather than a single reform. The Green Map therefore provides a sequenced plan with short-term actions to strengthen regulatory foundations, medium-term goals for harmonisation and investment mobilisation, and long-term ambitions for integrated regional markets.
The ASEAN Green Map is a valuable example of how regional cooperation can transform a global movement into coordinated, context-specific frameworks. The ASEAN Green Map’s ecosystem approach reflects the emerging consensus that unlocking climate finance requires both regulatory ambition and market readiness, however the success of the next phase will depend on the implementation of firmer regulatory guidance and coordinated commitments from central banks and ministries of finance; expanded capacity-building and technical assistance for supervisors and regulators; and financing partnerships that blend development and private capital to scale green investment pipelines.
By implementing these recommendations, ASEAN can position itself as a leader among developing and emerging regions with a Green Map that does more than providing direction – it establishes a common language for action and collaboration, thereby offering lessons for policymakers and investors far beyond Southeast Asia.
