In response to the growing urgency to combat climate change, the public sector plays an enabling role in facilitating the implementation of integrated government strategies to meet sustainability targets.

Among ASEAN Member States, governments are making efforts to support climate-sensitive policies. Still, progress is held back by economic and regulatory obstacles, alongside a lack of national and global coordination.

The lack of government policies is inhibiting the effective mobilisation of climate finance. Governments also need to ensure efficient implementation of existing policies such as enforceable standards for green bonds.

A key challenge for policymakers is integrating public policy with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) targets, as current public policies, including national budgets, still need to be integrated with climate metrics.

As climate finance is still in its infancy in ASEAN, several ASEAN Member States rely heavily on public financing, including government funding and multilateral and bilateral agreements, to meet their NDC commitments.