OPINION

Why investing in people matters

Oped, Published on 04/07/2025

» Asean is striving to enhance its competitiveness on the global stage and readiness for a transition under its Carbon Neutrality Strategy. However, Asean will not be well-positioned to become an important part of the global net-zero economy without a robust human capital development to produce skilled, educated, and healthy individuals to drive the energy transition. Human capital has been a central ingredient in economic development, as evidenced by the bloc's Human Capital Index -- which ranges from 0.5 to 0.8 -- which demonstrates a positive correlation with Gross Domestic Products (GDP) per capita.