SOUTHEAST ASIA needs to undertake more green investment to minimize environmental footprints and promote sustainable development, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development said in a report.
The OECD said that growth and development in Southeast Asia has come at the cost of pollution and environmental degradation. It also noted that the region was especially vulnerable to climate change, with the Philippines ranking fourth among the most affected countries in the world to extreme weather events between 2000 and 2019.
“In some cases, foreign investors are greener than their domestic counterparts as a result of the more stringent international environmental standards that they are measured against. But foreign investors can also deteriorate environmental outcomes by offshoring highly polluting activities to countries with less stringent regulations and induce a race to the bottom with respect to environmental standards,” it added.
“Thus, efforts to mobilize green investment will fail to meet their intended target unless governments ensure a regulatory climate that provides investors with fair treatment and confidence in the rule of law,” it added.