Thai PM embraces ESG as sustainability tops Apec summit agenda

THAILAND’S Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-Ocha put a global spotlight on sustainability and called for greater public and private cooperation to battle “unprecedented environmental challenges,” as leaders of some of the world’s biggest economies gather for a summit in Bangkok this week.

Sustainability tops the agenda at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit, at the end of which leaders and representatives of 21 economies are expected to endorse the Bangkok Goals on the Bio-Circular-Green Economy proposed by Thailand, Prayuth said.

“Public and private partnership is a key to building a sustainable and inclusive future. We need to change our ways for a better future,” Prayuth told a gathering of business executives at the Apec CEO Summit on Thursday (Nov 17).

He also urged businesses to move towards sustainability by harnessing technologies and conducting practices that are in line with environmental, social, and governance (ESG) goals “that the private sector around the world currently prioritises.”

Prayuth’s embrace of ESG as the host of Apec comes as the green label faces increased scrutiny around the world. Conservative political leaders in the US, for example, have taken aim at ESG as a tool of the liberal left, and in Europe and Japan, asset managers have toned down environmental claims and promises under threat of regulation.

The draft on the bio-circular economy, which was finalised during an Apec senior officials meeting on Wednesday, outlines a set of targets on climate change mitigation, sustainable trade and investment, environmental resources conservation and waste management, according to the Thai foreign ministry.

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“This is the first time this sustainability agenda will be incorporated into the Apec mainstream agenda by the highest level of the Apec structure,” said Cherdchai Chaivaivid, director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Economic Affairs.

Apec ministers also exchanged views on sustainability in a meeting earlier on Thursday to discuss how the member economies must change the way they conduct trade to stem environmental degradation and climate change, according to Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai. “To maintain status quo is not an option,” Don said.

Shortly after Prayuth’s speech, Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr called for stronger action on climate change, which he described as the “most pressing existential” issue of all time. He told the Apec CEO Summit meeting that “not enough” progress has been made to lower emissions.

Vietnamese President Nguyen Xuan Phuc also told the gathering that technologies that target net-zero emissions will be the strongest driver of foreign direct investment in the future.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was among world leaders who descended on Bangkok for the last of the three major summits that have seen discussions range from climate change to the war in Ukraine and food inflation. Xi was expected to hold face-to-face meetings with several leaders including Prayuth, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and New Zealand’s Jacinda Ardern.

US President Joe Biden is heading back to the White House from the Group of 20 summit in Indonesia for his granddaughter’s wedding Saturday and will be represented by Vice-President Kamala Harris at Apec. BLOOMBERG