Report

Southeast Asia's Green Economy 2024 Report

Moving the needle

By Dale Hardcastle, Yukiko Tsukamoto, Kimberly Tan, Tracy Wong Harris, Kyung-Ah Park, and Berakah Lee

Published on 四月 15, 2024
min read


Southeast Asia is confronted with a reality gap between its net zero ambitions and true progress in its energy and green transition. The region grapples with structural constraints, including the dual challenge of balancing economic growth and energy transition, a mismatch in supply and demand due to geographical dispersion of renewable resources, limited incentives for carbon reduction, and inadequate access to financing. These unique challenges require a multi-faceted systems-level change to accelerate the green transition. Furthermore, a significant investment gap to fund the transition continues to exist—an estimated $1.5 trillion is required until 2030, with only $45 billion in investments made across dedicated green investments as of 2023. Written in collaboration with Written in collaboration with We believe that Southeast Asia has a window of opportunity that it needs to seize today to leverage the green transition for competitive and economic growth beyond decarbonization. This report will highlight the immediate investable decarbonization ideas and accelerators that can help speed up progress. Comprehensive deep dives are featured alongside the top 13 investable ideas across four sectorial themes: Nature and Agriculture, Power, Transport, and Buildings. Finally, we discuss the five key accelerators that can help build ecosystems in the near term and bring investment to scale. All stakeholders need to take collective action to be on track for emission targets and unlock $300 billion in new revenue pools by 2030. The report highlights five priority actions: Focus attention on investable decarbonization ideas Scale up policies and investments to incentivize corporate action Promote innovation in finance to catalyze investment Advance country and regional plans for the transition path Take action today while working on structural constraints DOWNLOAD THE REPORT (PDF) About GenZero GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, we seek to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions. Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, we recognise the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. At GenZero, we adopt a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore our natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers which refer to companies and solutions that support the development of an effective, efficient, and credible carbon ecosystem. For more information on GenZero, visit www.genzero.co. About Standard Chartered Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore is part of an international banking group, with a presence in 54 of the world’s most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good. The Bank has a history of 167 years in Singapore, where we opened our first branch in 1859. In October 1999, we were among the first international banks to receive a Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) license, an endorsement of the Group's longstanding commitment to our business in the country. About Temasek Temasek is a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with a net portfolio value of S$434 billion (US$324B, €299B, £250B, RMB2.35T) as of 31 March 2025. Its purpose, “So Every Generation Prospers,” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations. Temasek seeks to build a resilient and forward-looking portfolio that will deliver sustainable returns over the long term.

Southeast Asia is confronted with a reality gap between its net zero ambitions and true progress in its energy and green transition. The region grapples with structural constraints, including the dual challenge of balancing economic growth and energy transition, a mismatch in supply and demand due to geographical dispersion of renewable resources, limited incentives for carbon reduction, and inadequate access to financing. These unique challenges require a multi-faceted systems-level change to accelerate the green transition. Furthermore, a significant investment gap to fund the transition continues to exist—an estimated $1.5 trillion is required until 2030, with only $45 billion in investments made across dedicated green investments as of 2023.

Written in collaboration with

We believe that Southeast Asia has a window of opportunity that it needs to seize today to leverage the green transition for competitive and economic growth beyond decarbonization. This report will highlight the immediate investable decarbonization ideas and accelerators that can help speed up progress. Comprehensive deep dives are featured alongside the top 13 investable ideas across four sectorial themes: Nature and Agriculture, Power, Transport, and Buildings. Finally, we discuss the five key accelerators that can help build ecosystems in the near term and bring investment to scale.

All stakeholders need to take collective action to be on track for emission targets and unlock $300 billion in new revenue pools by 2030. The report highlights five priority actions:

Focus attention on investable decarbonization ideas
Scale up policies and investments to incentivize corporate action
Promote innovation in finance to catalyze investment
Advance country and regional plans for the transition path
Take action today while working on structural constraints

DOWNLOAD THE REPORT (PDF)

About GenZero

GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, we seek to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions. Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, we recognise the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. At GenZero, we adopt a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore our natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers which refer to companies and solutions that support the development of an effective, efficient, and credible carbon ecosystem. For more information on GenZero, visit www.genzero.co.

About Standard Chartered

Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore is part of an international banking group, with a presence in 54 of the world’s most dynamic markets. Our purpose is to drive commerce and prosperity through our unique diversity, and our heritage and values are expressed in our brand promise, here for good. The Bank has a history of 167 years in Singapore, where we opened our first branch in 1859. In October 1999, we were among the first international banks to receive a Qualifying Full Bank (QFB) license, an endorsement of the Group's longstanding commitment to our business in the country.

About Temasek

Temasek is a global investment company headquartered in Singapore, with a net portfolio value of S$434 billion (US$324B, €299B, £250B, RMB2.35T) as of 31 March 2025. Its purpose, “So Every Generation Prospers,” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations. Temasek seeks to build a resilient and forward-looking portfolio that will deliver sustainable returns over the long term. 