Barriers to South East Asia’s low carbon transition are hindering its economic development, which in turn hampers progress in areas such as health, gender equality and reducing poverty. The £15m ASEAN Low Carbon Energy Programme is designed to tackle these barriers, focusing on the two areas with the greatest needs and where the UK has particular strengths: Green Finance and Energy Efficiency. The programme will strengthen policy and regulatory frameworks for green finance and energy efficiency; facilitate greater investment in low carbon technologies, including improved green finance flows; increase innovation and knowledge transfer in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies; and facilitate more efficient use of energy in target countries. As a secondary benefit the programme also opens up commercial opportunities for international, including UK, business, through increased “green” trade and investment, including in energy-efficient goods and services. The programme, which will operate in Burma, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam, is due to start its inception phase in early 2019.