SCALING CREDIBLE TRANSITION FINANCE – ASEAN

The report evaluates transition planning among ASEAN companies in sectors like cement, steel, and chemicals against the Climate Bonds Initiative's 'Five Hallmarks' of a credibly transitioning company. It finds that while net-zero commitments are increasing, most plans are fragmented and lack the robust, costed, and science-based pathways necessary for a 1.5°C alignment. The document provides specific analysis of companies such as Siam Cement Group and PTT, and offers guidance on improving the credibility of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) by ensuring they include material emission scopes and absolute targets.

• Most assessed sustainability and transition plans in the ASEAN region fail to meet the Climate Bonds Initiative's guidance, often appearing fragmented with information scattered across multiple documents such as annual reports and supply chain policies.
• Many companies have announced net-zero commitments, but these targets frequently lack a clear strategy, costed decarbonisation pathways, or short- and mid-term targets required to operationalise the goals.
• The Climate Bonds Initiative defines five hallmarks for a credibly transitioning entity: Paris-aligned targets, robust plans, implementation action, internal monitoring, and external reporting.
• In the cement sector, Siam Cement Group (SCG) has ambitious net-zero targets for 2050, but its 2030 target of -20% is slightly below the Climate Bonds science-based pathway requirement of -24.8%.
• Analysis of the steel sector shows that Bluescope has a capital allocation framework committing AUD150m until 2025 and AUD300-400m up to 2030, though it lacks a target for scope 3 emissions which represent 54.6% of its total emissions.
• PTT Global Chemical (GC) relies heavily on Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS), expecting it to eliminate over 50% of its emissions, but its 2030 target of 20% reduction is significantly lower than the 44.7% reduction called for by Climate Bonds' Basic Chemicals criteria.
• Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) in the market often lack credibility because targets are set against business baselines rather than science-based pathways; only 14.4% of SLBs in the Climate Bonds database address all three emission scopes.
• The report identifies that economic intensity targets for GHG emissions are less robust than absolute or physical intensity methods, and none of the SLBs using economic intensity targets in the database use the GHG emission per value added (GEVA) method.
• Olam Singapore is noted as a leader in the agricultural space, having achieved a 26% reduction in absolute scope 1 and 2 emissions, though it is encouraged to align its zero-deforestation timeframes with the SBTi FLAG target of 2025.
• Several ASEAN countries have introduced financial incentives for sustainable finance, such as Malaysia's SRI Sukuk and Bond Grant Scheme and Singapore's Sustainable Bond Grant Scheme (SBGS).

APA

Hemingway, R., MacGeoch, M., Harrison, C., Michetti, C., Widdowson, I., & Wong, C. X. (2022). SCALING CREDIBLE TRANSITION FINANCE – ASEAN. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Scaling-Credible-Transition-Finance-ASEAN-Edition.pdf

Chicago

Hemingway, Rachel, Matthew MacGeoch, Caroline Harrison, Carlotta Michetti, Izzy Widdowson, and Chi Xiang Wong. SCALING CREDIBLE TRANSITION FINANCE – ASEAN. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2022. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Scaling-Credible-Transition-Finance-ASEAN-Edition.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Hemingway |first1=Rachel |last2=MacGeoch |first2=Matthew |last3=Harrison |first3=Caroline |last4=Michetti |first4=Carlotta |last5=Widdowson |first5=Izzy |last6=Wong |first6=Chi Xiang |title=SCALING CREDIBLE TRANSITION FINANCE – ASEAN |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=December 2022 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Scaling-Credible-Transition-Finance-ASEAN-Edition.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{hemingway2022scaling, author = {Hemingway, Rachel and MacGeoch, Matthew and Harrison, Caroline and Michetti, Carlotta and Widdowson, Izzy and Wong, Chi Xiang}, title = {{SCALING CREDIBLE TRANSITION FINANCE – ASEAN}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Scaling-Credible-Transition-Finance-ASEAN-Edition.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }