SOAS Research Online

Abstract

This paper reviews the policies and mechanisms that have been devised and implemented in the European Union in order to scale up sustainable finance, with a particular focus regarding the financing of the SDGs and insights that are important also in an ASEAN context. It highlights five points that have shown to been particularly relevant in the EU context and that should be considered by ASEAN countries: (i) the SDGs need to be translated into regional economic co-operation and integration strategies to enhancing policy coherence at all levels; (ii) a comprehensive mapping exercise is needed to measure progress and facilitate the development of targeted policies; (iii) the SDG agenda needs to be mainstreamed in public finances; (iv) the EU’s example highlights the role that public development banks can play in accelerating the achievement of the SDGs; and (v) concerted efforts are needed in scaling up financing for the SDGs by mainstreaming sustainability practices in financial decision making.