The government is finalizing its sustainable finance framework for the issuance of the Philippines' first-ever sovereign green bonds in an effort to mobilize funds for capital-intensive climate adaptation and mitigation projects in the face of worsening global warming, Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez 3rd said on Friday.

With the Philippines shifting from merely talking about climate change to commencing the implementation of practical adaptation and mitigation projects on the ground, Dominguez said such initiatives will necessarily involve the mobilization of a governance structure for 'green funds.' Dominguez said the Securities and Exchange Commission has long prepared the country's capital markets for the demand in green investments, having released guidelines on the issuance of Green, Social and Sustainability (GSS) bonds that adhere to the standards set by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).