The Green Finance Institute launches report analysing barriers to decarbonise the Philippines’ transport and waste sectors

by Green Finance Institute | October 22, 2025

Manila, 22 October 2025: The Green Finance Institute today released a new report titled Mobilising Climate Finance into the Philippines in collaboration with Philippines Department of Finance (DOF), the Climate Change Commission (CCC) and the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), analysing investment barriers and innovative financial mechanisms to mobilising private capital into the transport and waste sectors. This report is a significant milestone in mobilising finance for the Nationally Determined Contributions Implementation Plan (NDCIP).

The Philippines’ NDCIP estimates a significant climate financing need of US$72 billion required across five priority sectors – agriculture, waste, industry, transport, and energy.^[1] With public financing committing to fund 2.7% of this, innovative financial mechanisms to unlock private financing are essential.[2]

Foreign direct investment in the Philippines remains modest, but it does not flow to all sectors. While 89% of commercial banks in the Philippines support renewable energy, only 28% are backing resource efficiency and circular economy lending, and 22% are financing zero-carbon transport.^[3] Reflecting a broader Asia-Pacific and global trend, data from the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) reveals that from 2014 to 2023, 35% of cumulative green bond proceeds flowed into energy projects. The CBI flagged mass transport and solid waste as “untapped” green investment sectors.^[4]

To support private capital deployment in key sectors, the GFI produced a report in collaboration with the DOF and CCC as the first step in a broader effort to drive investment into decarbonising the Philippines’ waste and transport sectors. The report, funded by FCDO through the Financial Services Center of Expertise, identifies key barriers to private finance, proposes initial policy and financial solutions, and explores how the “Green Force” could evolve into the country’s sustainable investment platform to help close financing gaps and accelerate private capital mobilisation towards the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets and National Adaptation Programme (NAP) goals.

The GFI presented findings at a validation event in May 2025, co-hosted by DOF, CCC and FCDO, which brought together investors, industry and policymakers to test recommendations and help shape the next phase of the programme where GFI will take forward proposed solutions to lay the pathway for capital mobilisation.

State of transport

The transport sector accounts for 23% of the country’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from fuel combustion, with jeepneys alone estimated to contribute around 15.5% of the transport sector’s total emissions.[5] ^[6] Yet modernisation efforts have been slow: just 4% of the targeted jeepney fleet had been replaced as of year-end 2023, and fewer than 912 electric vehicle (EV) charging stations were operational as of March 2025.^[7][8]

State of waste

The waste sector contributes 13% of the country’s GHG emissions and generated over 18 million tonnes of municipal solid waste in 2020, growing at an average of 3.4% annually over the last decade.^[9] ^[10] The country also loses an estimated US$790–890 million annually from unrecovered plastic resources, with only 9% of plastic waste currently recycled.^[11] ^[12]

In 2018, the Asian Development Bank warned that municipal waste-to-energy (WtE) projects in the Philippines had seen virtually no uptake due to investment uncertainty. Yet 78% of the material value of plastics is lost to the Philippine economy each year. Solving the plastic waste challenge could unlock up to US$790–890 million in annual value.^[13]

The Green Force

This work is being undertaken in collaboration with the Inter-agency Task Force on Sustainable Finance (ITSF), or the “Green Force” led by the DOF and the CCC. Formalised in 2021, the Green Force’s mandate is to institutionalise sustainable finance and develop a pipeline of bankable green investments. The GFI’s work focuses on developing structured finance solutions to unlock private capital and enable the Green Force to evolve into the Philippines Investment Platform, mirroring other country platforms being set up globally.

The GFI aims to enable greater private capital investment in emerging sectors and regions by improving institutional design, policy frameworks, and structured finance solutions. It helps to shape and co-create investable opportunities worldwide. Internationally, the GFI focuses on mobilising private capital into key sectors by bridging the gap between countries’ NDC commitments—which generate demand—and the capital supply, targeting opportunities with suitable risk and return profiles.

James Hooton, Managing Director, International at the Green Finance Institute, said: “The Philippines presents a strong but under-explored opportunity for private investment in waste and transport—two critical sectors for meeting its climate goals. While public finance remains limited, there’s growing momentum to develop financial mechanisms that can unlock private capital. With a redesigned Green Force and increasing interest in sustainable finance, now is the time to shift focus towards sectors that have so far been overlooked but hold real potential for impact.”

Lloyd Cameron, Economic and Climate Counsellor of the British Embassy, Manila, said: “By recognising climate risks as catalysts for innovation, we can align financial flows with national development and decarbonisation goals. This report shows how, with the right policy signals and partnerships, we can unlock private capital to drive low-carbon, resilient growth in the transport and waste sectors in the Philippines. The UK brings deep expertise in green finance to help break down barriers and scale up that investment. Together, we can accelerate progress towards the Philippines’ NDC.”

The Philippines Department of Finance, said:

“Understanding the key barriers to private investment in the Philippines is essential to making our NDC ambitions bankable. With transport and waste sector decarbonisation identified as national priorities under our NDCIP, this report marks an important step in mobilising private capital to support sustainable growth and economic resilience. The Green Force, as the government’s coordination platform for green finance, is committed to working with GFI and other stakeholders to accelerate private-sector investment in these critical sectors.”

[1] Implementation Plan for the Public of the Philippines Nationally Determined Contribution (2020-2030)

[2] ibid

[3]https://www.bsp.gov.ph/Media_And_Research/Media%20Releases/2023_07/BSP%20Sustainability%20Report%202022.pdf

[4] Green Infrastructure Investment Opportunities Philippines (2020) Report

[5] National Integrated Climate Change Database and Information Exchange System (2020). GHG Inventory 2020 Data

[6] Changing Transport (2018) Modernising Public Transport in the Philippines

[7] Calonzo, A. (2023) Manila’s Colorful Jeepneys Make Way for Carbon-Free Minibuses.

[8] Power Philippines (2025) PH Boosts Electric Vehicle Future with Expanded Charging Network and New Policies

[9] National Integrated Climate Change Database and Information Exchange System (2020). GHG Inventory 2020 Data

[10] DENR (2020) National Solid Waste Management Status Report [2008-2018]

[11] World Bank (2024) Roadmap for the Management of Plastic Waste and Reduction of Non-Recyclable

Single-use Plastics in the Philippines