PETALING JAYA: The Asean Taxonomy Board (ATB) has released the Asean Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance (Asean Taxonomy) –Version 1, which serves as a frame for official sector and private sector stakeholders to work together on the development of the Asean Taxonomy.

       ATB said Asean finance sectoral bodies today achieved a milestone towards meeting the Paris Agreement commitments by introducing a common language for financing sustainable economic activities in conjunction with the 26th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26).

       “The Asean Taxonomy recognises international aspirations and goals, and takes into consideration the region’s unique needs and, as such, aims to be inclusive and beneficial to all Asean member states (AMS).

       “To cater for AMS’ diversity, the ATB has decided upon a multi-tiered approach with two main elements, a principles-based Foundation Framework which provides a qualitative assessment of activities, and a Plus Standard with metrics and thresholds to qualify and benchmark eligible green activities and investments,” it said in a statement.

       ATB said Version 1 elaborates on the key components of the Asean Taxonomy including four environmental objectives and two essential criteria for the assessment of economic activities that act as the foundation to safeguard the environment and promote transition to low carbon and environmentally sustainable practices.

       Meanwhile, the Plus Standard will cover material sectors in terms of greenhouse gas missions and gross value add – agriculture, forestry and fishing; electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply, among others. ―Bernama