Although within the ASEAN there have been transboundary issues, e.g. the fires and haze of past years (which might challenges the commitment to sustainability), the recent ASEAN summit did take significant steps towards sustainability. 

Leaders endorsed the efforts to promote the complementarity between the UN SDGs and ASEAN Community Vision 2025. And there are also efforts being made at the country level. The summit recognized that Thailand will establish an ASEAN Centre for Sustainable Development Studies and Dialogue. It also noted the steps taken by Indonesia and Malaysia to ensure sustainability of the agri-resouces sector. Changes in this sector will not only have impacts on companies with palm oil but also across the value chain of financial institutions, traders, and manufacturers as well as consumers. 

These changes are not only for the purpose of green development but also are driven by a re-assessment of risk. According to the 2018 Global Climate Risk Index, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam and the Philippines are among the ASEAN members that are being heavily influenced by climate change. In terms of efforts at country level, for example,the green growth pathway of Malaysia intends to bring responsible and sustainable investments into the financial system. It requires the environmental and social safeguards for investments and also provides guidelines to encourage sustainable investment. 

Indonesia is planning to reform its system of land and agrarian rights, which would help shift to more sustainable development of natural resources. In the Philippines, the government is advancing for a transition to renewable energy by increasing its tax on imported coal for the purpose of doubling its installed renewable capacity by 2030. Singapore is also utilizing a carbon tax to speeding up its green growth. The Monetary Authority of Singapore also plans to test or evaluate the impact of climate change on significant insurers. 

 At the ASEAN level, it can assist member states to meet their nationally determined contributions (NDCs). Members in progress can assist in transfer of technology and share best practices to those state with slow progress in terms of implementation of NDCs. ASEAN can also encourage private sector to work with public sector by designing public-private partnerships to reduce financial risks in large-scale development projects. On the other hand, creating markets for more sustainable bonds to attract finance for projects is also necessary, which can be achieved by promoting the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations.