The Bureau of the Treasury said the government has established its sustainable finance framework to support the country’s sustainability commitments.
In a statement, the Treasury bureau said on Friday, Jan. 14, that the framework has set out how the the Philippine government intends to raise Green, Social or Sustainability Bonds, Loans and other debt instruments in the international capital markets.
“The framework marks an important milestone for ROP’s sustainability journey and the Philippine sustainable finance market more broadly,” the Treasury bureau said.
Under the framework, the bureau said “the ROP intends to contribute to the development of the Sustainable Financing market domestically in the Philippines.”
The framework lays out the process that will be used to ensure transparency and disclosure of the use of proceeds, as well as the expected environmental and social impact of eligible green and social projects, in keeping with international best practices.
“Proceeds raised under this Framework will be used to support projects that reflect the Philippines’ commitment toward Sustainable Development and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,” the bureau said.
The agency added that the new framework is in line with the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and Public Investment Program 2017-2022.
The issuance of sustainable financing instruments will additionally support the country’s climate change commitments under the National Framework Strategy on Climate Change (NFSCC), the treasury said.
This is also in accordance with the Conference of Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which has the objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030, the bureau said.
The ROP has tapped Vigeo Eiris, a Moody’s affiliate and global provider of environmental, social and governance solutions, to provide a second party opinion (SPO) on the framework.
“The SPO confirms that the ROP’s Sustainable Finance Framework and Eligible Expenditures Portfolio are aligned with the four core components of the Green Bond Principles 2021 and Social Bond Principles 2021,” the Treasury said.
ROP has also received support from Standard Chartered Bank and UBS as joint structuring advisors in establishing its inaugural sustainable finance framework.