Activities for the ASEAN region

-Seminar
On August 22, a seminar on GHG M&R, “Development of policy, institutions and mechanisms and their effective utilization for transparency of GHG emissions and mitigation in the ASEAN region -Partnership to Strengthen Transparency for co-Innovation (PaSTI) and Initiative on Fluorocarbons Life Cycle Management (IFL)-”, was held as one of the thematic seminars of the “ASEAN-Japan Environment Week to Commemorate 50th Anniversary”.
In the seminar, activities to enhance transparency efforts through PaSTI, PaSTI-JAIF project, and IFL, which serve as a basis for climate action in the ASEAN region, were introduced.

In the discussion session, following an introduction of the background and overview of PaSTI-JAIF Project by Singapore (the proponent of the project), panelists from Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, and the Philippines each shared their countries' progress in transparency actions, and discussed expectations of the PaSTI and PaSTI-JAIF project and future collaboration. In particular, the need to strengthen technical capacity was repeatedly emphasized.

-Workshop
The “ASEAN Workshop on PaSTI” was held as a closed side-event of the “ASEAN-Japan Environment Week to Commemorate 50th Anniversary” on August 23. Representatives from each ASEAN country were invited.

At the beginning of the workshop, a presentation by CDP, a not-for-profit charity that runs the global disclosure system, helped participants deepen their understanding of the global trends of environmental disclosure and the relationship between disclosure (transparency) and finance, which includes ESG investment.
This was followed by the presentations by ASEAN Member States (AMS): Vietnam, the Philippines, Thailand, Brunei, and Malaysia, each sharing the latest status of transparency action, including facility-level GHG M&R system.
In the group discussion, based on the presentations by CDP and the AMS, participants engaged in lively discussions on what kind of support is needed to enhance transparency within the ASEAN region as a whole, and the challenges they are facing.

The Semi-final Version of “the ASEAN Guidelines on Facility-level GHG Measurement and Reporting”, which had been in progress since 2019, was unveiled at the Singapore Pavilion at COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.

In the side-event “PaSTI-JAIF Project on development and implementation of facility level GHG emissions Measurement and Reporting framework in ASEAN member states“, H.E. Ms. Grace Fu, Minister of Sustainability and the Environment, Singapore, H.E. Mr. Nishimura Akihiro, Minister of the Environment, Japan, and H.E. Mr. Ekkaphab Phanthavong, Deputy Secretary General, ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, ASEAN Secretariat gave remarks and welcomed the outcome.

This regional guidelines had been formed in the second phase of the PaSTI-JAIF Project based on “Roadmap for Designing Facility Level GHG M&R Guideline for ASEAN Region” published as an outcome of the first phase in 2021, through detailed study and deliberate discussions by ASEAN member states.

The semi-final draft guidelines will be finalised through the public comments.

The PaSTI-JAIF Project launched an online platform “MRV Information Platform for ASEAN Region” at the same side-event.

This very first platform, which integrates and accumulates the latest information on MRV in ASEAN region, aims at providing and sharing information on MRV and transparency actions in ASEAN Member States (AMS) such as MRV guidelines, carbon pricing system, voluntary actions on GHG M&R, etc., in order to offer easy access to relevant information for state and non-state actors and assist developing domestic GHG measures.

It will be updated constantly with the cooperation of AMS, and will also be enriched with useful information about MRV in other countries.

Hope you all will make good use of this website!

The second Workshop on the Development of ASEAN Guidelines on GHG Measurement & Reporting under PaSTI-JAIF was held on 11th October 2022 as a back-to-back session of the International Workshop.

The objectives of this workshop were to share comments made during the bilateral consultations by the AMS and technical advisors and conduct further discussion, to introduce Draft Guidelines (Version 2.0) and discuss further development of guidelines, and to share progress on the development of the Information Platform of climate transparency in the ASEAN regions.

Reflecting the inputs from the Focal Points from ASEAN Member States, the Guidelines will be improved.

The Phase 2 of PaSTI-JAIF Project “Development and implementation of facility level Monitoring and Reporting (M&R) framework for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in ASEAN member states (AMS)” has been officially approved in December 2021. This phase aims to develop facility level M&R guidelines for ASEAN region following the “Roadmap for Designing Facility Level GHG M&R Guideline for ASEAN Region” which were developed in the Phase 1. It is expected that the developed guidelines can serve as a reference for AMS for developing their own transparency systems involving the state and non-state actors.

PaSTI-Closing Webinar was held to conclude Phase 1 activities.

As originally proposed for Phase 1 of the PaSTI-JAIF Project, a technical training in Japan was planned for February 2020. However, the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult to travel internationally, and as a result, the technical training has been replaced by the organization of this webinar.

To summarise the Phase 1, the implementation agency prepared three video presentations explaining outcomes of Phase 1. By sending this information prior to the webinar, a very fruitful discussion was able to be conducted among the PaSTI-JAIF focal points from each ASEAN Member State during this virtual event.

In this webinar, Roadmap for Designing Facility Level GHG M&R Guideline for ASEAN Region was adopted as the output of Phase 1 activities.

You can recap the webinar on PaSTI Official Channel.