Green Finance and Decarbonization: Advancing Low-carbon Technologies in East and Southeast Asia

This book explores empirical studies and policies related to green finance and low-carbon technology development through country-level case studies and regional analyses across East and Southeast Asia.

Contributors explore how countries such as China, Indonesia, Japan, Lao PDR, Malaysia, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam are leveraging green finance to advance their energy transitions and pursue carbon neutrality. The chapters examine regional efforts across East and Southeast Asia, with a focus on green technology innovation, green bond ecosystems, and renewable energy investments. By highlighting the role of green finance―including financial instruments, mechanisms, and policy frameworks―the book emphasizes the importance of coordinated efforts in promoting sustainable energy solutions and reducing carbon emissions.

With valuable insights into effective practices for achieving global sustainability goals, this book will interest researchers of finance, energy economics, environmental economics, and policy.

Han Phoumin is a senior energy economist at the Economic Research Institute for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and East Asia (ERIA) in Jakarta, Indonesia. He specializes in economic development, policy analysis, and applied econometrics. With over 20 years of experience, he has worked with various international and intergovernmental organizations and multidisciplinary research consortiums, focusing on energy markets and technologies, environmental issues, integrated water resource management, governance, and economic development in ASEAN and East Asia. Over the past decade, Dr. Han has been extensively involved in energy sector research, including sustainable hydropower development, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean coal technology, energy security, and energy demand and supply forecasting. He holds a Ph.D. in economic development and policy from Kobe University, Japan.

Farhad Taghizadeh-Hesary is an associate professor at Tokai University's Research Institute for Environment and Sustainability (TRIES) in Tokyo, Japan, the vice president of the International Society for Energy Transition Studies (ISETS), and the chief economist at Climate Finance Asia in Tokyo. Before joining Tokai University, he was an assistant professor at the Keio University (2015–2018) and Waseda University (2018–2020) in Tokyo. He also serves as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management and as an associate editor of several scholarly journals. In 2023, Japan’s Minister of Education awarded him the Medal and Commendation for Science and Technology for his contributions to renewable energy finance research. Recognized as a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics, he has authored extensively in academic journals and edited volumes, primarily on green finance, energy, and environmental economics and policy. Dr. Taghizadeh-Hesary has led numerous international consulting and capacity-building projects. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Keio University (2015).

Fukunari Kimura is the president of the IDE-JETRO Institute of Developing Economies, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), and a professor emeritus and a senior professor at Keio University in Tokyo, Japan. He served as ERIA’s chief economist for 16 years while concurrently teaching and conducting research at Keio University. Born in Tokyo in 1958, he earned a Bachelor of Laws from the University of Tokyo in 1982, followed by an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in economics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1990 and 1991, respectively. He was an assistant professor at the State University of New York at Albany (1991–1994) before joining Keio University as an associate professor (1994–2000). Dr. Kimura has been actively publishing academic and semi-academic books and articles on international production networks and economic integration in East Asia. He is also an editor of Asian Economic Papers (MIT Press).

Rabindra Nepal is a professor of economics with internationally recognized research expertise in economic and policy analysis related to energy, the environment, and natural resources. He has successfully led and participated in collaborative research projects involving organizations like the ERIA, the Asian Development Bank Institute, the National Research Institute of Papua New Guinea, the South Australia Productivity Commission, and the Consumer Reference Group of the Australian Energy Regulator, as well as attracting funding from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, while his advisory roles have benefited national and international organizations like the Department of Climate Change, Energy, Environment and Water, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). He has co-authored numerous journal articles in energy, environment, resources, and environmental and climate finance, among top-tier field journals including Energy Economics, Environmental and Resource Economics, Ecological Economics, The Energy Journal, and The Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics. He is a co-editor of Economic Analysis and Policy and serves on the international advisory board of Energy Policy.