Green Finance: Advancing Higher Education for Sustainable Growth in Southeast Asia

ongoing

Climate change is adversely affecting the societies and economies of ASEAN Countries (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations), in particular those of the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. In 2023, the EU concluded significant steps in accelerating the green transition of the 3 countries through the Global Gateway and the Team Europe Initiative. Crucial for their green transformation is the ability of the educational system to provide the necessary knowledge, skills and competences for green jobs and green society. However, the current education system of Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam is not yet able to provide the skills required for green finance and green jobs. The objective of the Green Finance project is to contribute to the modernisation of the Higher Education system in enhancing the quality, relevance and responsiveness of HE in the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam by building and reinforcing the capacity of research and teaching staff to modernise curricula, develop new and innovative teaching to address the challenges of socio-economic recovery, growth and prosperity in line with the Green Deal, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement. At this purpose, the project will create tailored capacity building opportunities in sustainable investments, green finance and micro credentials for the universities’ staff. At the end of this pathway, each ASEAN university will integrate into its training offer a Green Finance Micro-Credential Programme validated with at least 400 students. Official agreements for students’ placement will be signed with external organisations engaged in green finance. As final result, Green Finance will accelerate the transition towards a just green and circular economy, also providing a regional approach in ASEAN and will promote the collaboration between HEIs and the private sector, in particular the finance, banking and insurance companies that are the largest employers requesting green skill