Kuala Lumpur, 17 October 2025: The Asia Zero Emission Community (AZEC) Advocacy Group, comprising the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC), Keidanren (Japan Business Federation), and the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA), submitted a Joint Recommendation to the 3rd AZEC Ministerial Meeting held on 17 October 2025 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Joint Recommendation reflects a unified voice from the business community across AZEC partner countries, underscoring the need for practical cooperation and enabling policy frameworks to accelerate Asia’s transition toward carbon neutrality and net-zero emissions, while safeguarding economic growth and energy security.

This year’s recommendation highlights key challenges facing AZEC partner countries – including regulatory fragmentation, limited financing mechanisms, and barriers to technology deployment. To address these, it calls for:

• Harmonisation of greenhouse gas (GHG) data and disclosure standards;
• Alignment of certification systems and technical standards;
• Development of financing mechanisms and carbon markets; and
• Scaling up cross-border, tangible decarbonisation projects.

The document also stresses the importance of strengthened government–business collaboration, joint research and capacity building, and coordination with regional and global frameworks to ensure an inclusive and effective pathway toward net-zero.

Joint Recommendation