Climate Changed
Southeast Asia Banks Urged to Strengthen Environment Policies
- World Wildlife Fund studied lending policies of 34 banks
- Need to enhance incentives and penalties for banks in region
This article is for subscribers only.
Banks and regulators in Southeast Asia should strengthen financial-sector rules and guidelines to promote funding for environment-friendly projects in a region threatened by deforestation and climate change, the World Wildlife Fund said.
Measures to promote sustainable finance in the region are “high level,” and don’t involve the incentives or penalties which would get banks to properly integrate environmental policies into their lending practices, the WWF said in a survey of 34 large Southeast Asian banks published on Tuesday. The region’s banks have “significant leeway” to decide which environmental risks are material, the report said.