Workshop on ASEAN Taxonomy Application in Energy Financing - Sustainable Finance

This two-day advanced-level workshop is designed to equip finance professionals—particularly those new to energy-related financing—with the practical skills to apply the ASEAN Taxonomy in real-world project evaluation and financing scenarios.

The course is highly relevant for individuals involved in cross-border, regional, or development-focused energy projects, especially in the areas of power generation, transmission, distribution, storage, and heating/cooling.

Participants will gain a working understanding of key ASEAN Taxonomy elements, including:

Technical Screening Criteria (TSC)
Environmental Objectives (EOs)
Essential Criteria, such as:

Do No Significant Harm (DNSH)
Remedial Measures to Transition (RMT)
Social Aspects (SA)

Through a hands-on and applied learning approach, the workshop incorporates:

Practical classification exercises
Real case study analysis
Review of project documentation
Simulation of internal decision-making processes
Tools for ensuring taxonomy-aligned financing decisions

The course will also address interoperability with national taxonomies and emerging sustainability frameworks, ensuring participants are equipped to assess projects from both a technical and financial compliance perspective.

Delivered by finance and energy sector experts, with insights from guest speakers in innovation and emerging technologies, this workshop bridges the gap between taxonomy application and sustainable investment opportunities across ASEAN.

Programme Outline

Learning Objectives

By the end of the programme, participants will be able to:

Interpret ASEAN Taxonomy principles, Environmental Objectives, and Essential Criteria to classify energy-related economic activities.
Differentiate between Foundation Framework and Plus Standard approaches and determine their application in client financing scenarios.
Apply Technical Screening Criteria (TSC) to assess lifecycle GHG emissions, technology eligibility, and tier classification for energy projects.
Evaluate project documentation to verify compliance with DNSH, Social Aspects, and assess transition alignment using RMT.
Design taxonomy-aligned financial instruments with appropriate performance indicator/target and pricing features.
Justify financing decisions and communicate taxonomy alignment to stakeholders to mitigate greenwashing and misclassification risks.

Programme Outline

Module 1: ASEAN Taxonomy Fundamentals
Four Environmental Objectives (EOs)
Three Essential Criteria (DNSH, RMT, Social Aspects)
Sectoral focus on energy: scope and activity-based classification logic
Module 2: Foundation Framework (FF) vs Plus Standard (PS)
Key differences, classification flow, and use cases
When and how banks apply FF vs PS
Clarifying the tiered classification (only under PS)
Module 3: Technical Screening Criteria for Energy Activities
Lifecycle GHG emissions thresholds
TSC for power generation, storage, transmission & distribution, heating/cooling
Mapping technologies to eligibility
Hands-on classification exercises and case walkthroughs
Guest fireside chat on emerging technologies
Module 4: DNSH and Social Aspects in Practice
Understanding DNSH risks (e.g., biodiversity, pollution, water)
Social safeguards and minimum compliance indicators
Reviewing supporting documents for DNSH and Social Aspects compliance verification
Module 5: Transition Pathways and RMT Assessment
Amber Tier 2 and Tier 3: how to differentiate and justify
Assessing transition credibility (RMT criteria)
Case studies on partial alignment and required improvement
Module 6: Structuring Finance & Avoiding Greenwashing
Mapping activity classification to financial instruments
Designing credible performance indicators or performance target
Role Play: Communicating taxonomy alignment to internal/external stakeholders

Wrap-Up: Key Takeaways, Certification, and Next Steps

METHODOLOGY

Expert-led presentations
Real-world case analysis
Hands-on exercises for activity
Role-play and internal decision-making simulations
Fireside chat with industry speakers on emerging technologies
Peer discussions and group learning to enhance practical application

Participant profile

This workshop is for finance professionals who are new to the ASEAN Taxonomy but have experience or interest in sustainable finance, energy-related transactions, or regional development financing.

No engineering background is needed—technical topics like the Technical Screening Criteria (TSC) are explained in plain language using real examples and practical tools.

Relevant Roles:

Relationship Managers: Working with energy, infrastructure, or clean tech clients and seeking to understand project eligibility for green or transition finance.
Credit Analysts & Committee Members: Reviewing project documents and evaluating alignment with sustainability classifications.
ESG & Sustainable Finance Teams: Structuring products aligned with the ASEAN Taxonomy.
Project Finance & Infrastructure Teams: Supporting energy projects seeking blended or concessional finance.
Risk & Compliance Officers: Integrating taxonomy thresholds into ESG risk frameworks and reducing greenwashing risks.
DFI Professionals: Applying ASEAN Taxonomy for energy projects aligned with SDG/NDC goals and international funding requirements.

Trainer

Sharon Liew Siu Wei

Senior Consultant, Asian Banking School

Assoc. Prof. T.s. Dr. Ho Wai Shin

Solar PV Expert

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Sharon Liew Siu Wei

Senior Consultant, Asian Banking School

Sharon Liew is an experienced Sustainable Finance Trainer with over 17 years of expertise spanning central banking, auditing, consulting, education, and training.

She began her career at BDO, leading audits across various industries and government-linked entities. She later joined Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), where she supervised financial institutions and led thematic reviews on risk management control functions. In 2012, she represented BNM at the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Banking Supervisory Training. Driven by a passion for teaching, Sharon transitioned to academia, where she taught banking and finance at Tunku Abdul Rahman University College (TARUC). She also taught foreign languages to corporate learners from diverse backgrounds, further enhancing her ability to connect with individuals from various cultures.

At ABS, Sharon designs, develops, and delivers sustainable finance programmes, including
the Sustainable Finance Structured Learning Pathway, which covers foundational to advanced levels and is aligned with the Green Finance Advisor (GFA) certification. Her recent projects include collaborations with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) on renewable energy policy focus groups and green finance training tailored to ASEAN-specific challenges.

Sharon has built strong academic partnerships with leading learning institutions in China, including Tsinghua University and the International Institute of Green Finance at Central University of Finance and Economics (IIGF-CUFE), focusing on, fintech, sustainable finance and AI integration in financial education. Her regional expertise is further demonstrated through her role as a judge at the I-CEE Student Case Competition at the International Business School-Beijing Foreign Studies University (IBS-BFSU) and her presentations at ASEAN+3 and RCEP conferences.

Sharon is a Chartered Accountant with the Malaysian Institute of Accountants, a Certified HRDF Accredited Trainer, a Certified Expert in Sustainable Finance from the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, and a holder of the Professional Certificate in Islamic Finance from INCEIF. She is also TESOL certified by the London Teacher Training College and certified in Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (CTCSOL) by Hanban.

Assoc. Prof. T.s. Dr. Ho Wai Shin

Solar PV Expert

Assoc. Prof. Ts. Dr. Ho Wai Shin has more than 12 years’ experience in the areas of Renewable Energy and Green Technology. He pursued his Ph.D. in 2011 where he had started doing research on renewable energy system optimisation. Upon graduation, he joined Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) as a Senior Lecturer and now an Assoc. Professor. He has taught numerous engineering subjects including Renewable Energy, Energy Conversion, Thermal Energy Management, Control Process and Instrumentation, Pollution Control, and many more. He is also a Certified HRD Corp Trainer. He has also conducted courses on Green Technology Financing for Financial Institutions under MGTC.

Dr. Ho obtained his Ph.D. in 2014 from UTM and he was awarded the prestigious Commonwealth Scholarship to attend Imperial College London during his Ph.D. Dr. Ho’s invention and research work gained him numerous recognitions where he was awarded the global Best Young Chemical Engineer in Research by ICheme in 2015. He was also awarded the Young Scientist Research Award by UTM in 2020 and in the same year, was awarded the National Young Scientist (Saintis Muda Negara) by the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Innovation. He is a Certified Energy Manager under the ASEAN Centre of Energy and Registered Electrical Energy Manager by Energy Commission, Malaysia.