Greening South-east Asia's financial system

WE have reached a critical moment in the relationship between our environment, our economies and our financial markets. Across the global business community, the strategic imperative of transitioning to a more sustainable path is becoming increasingly apparent.

But the levels of expenditure needed are huge and beyond the reach of public finances, which is why private finance needs to be mobilised. On infrastructure alone, Asia Development Bank estimates that developing Asia-Pacific needs to invest US$1.7 trillion per year in infrastructure through to 2030 to maintain its growth momentum, tackle poverty, and respond to climate change.

And we need to move fast. Over the last five decades, Asia accounted for half of the world's economic losses from natural disasters, amounting to more than US$1.3 trillion.