Jakarta (VNA)💮 - The ASEAN Taxonomy Board (ATB),representing ASEAN finance sectoral bodies, has announced the completion oftargeted stakeholder consultation for Version 2 of the ASEAN Taxonomy forSustainable Finance (ASEAN Taxonomy).

This represents a significant milestone in validating theregion’s journey towards sustainability and climate resilience and demonstratesthe ATB’s commitment to providing crucial guidance to support environmentallyresponsible economic activities. To advance the sustainable finance agenda in the region, the ATBreleased Version 2 of the ASEAN Taxonomy earlier this year, which featured thecompleted Foundation Framework, offering detailed methodologies for assessingvarious economic activities. It also provided Technical Screening Criteria(TSC) for the first focus sector, including electricity, gas, steam, and airconditioning supply sector under the Plus Standard, as well as the CarbonCapture, Utilisation, and Storage (CCUS) enabling sector. Following this release, the ATB embarked on a targetedconsultation with key stakeholders within the ASEAN region and beyond, engagingmore than 1,300 stakeholders and 250 organisations through written feedback,roundtable sessions, and interviews. The consultation was instrumental inaffirming and refining the ASEAN Taxonomy’s approach. A key tenet of the ASEAN Taxonomy is to facilitate a justtransition, which will continue to drive the development of the next phases ofthe Taxonomy. In this regard, stakeholders affirmed the Taxonomy’s use of atraffic light-based system as a helpful tool in supporting companies in itstransition finance journey.  Stakeholders welcomed the ASEAN Taxonomy as a credible,science-based tool and the Taxonomy’s emphasis on interoperability, inparticular, the alignment of the Plus Standard’s Green Tier with the EUTaxonomy. The ATB has also embarked on the development of the TSC for thenext two focus sectors under the ASEAN Taxonomy, namely Transportation &Storage and Construction & Real Estate. TSC for the remaining focus sectorsand enabling sectors will be rolled out over the next two years./.