As the growth of energy demand outstrips that of energy supply in developing Asia, it becomes imperative to seek energy efficiency improvements for sustained energy security. The building sector represents about 30% of global final energy use and its energy savings potential is massive. However, total spending on energy efficiency in the global building sector represented less than 9% of the USD4.6 trillion spent on construction and renovation in 2016. While green buildings have an overall low penetration rate in developing Asia, when compared to the rest of the world, a relatively large proportion of green bond proceeds in ASEAN have been channeled to financing green buildings.

JEL codes: Q42; Q48