The Philippines and neighbor members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stand to benefit from the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) $300 million support to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) green recovery program in the region.
The ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) Green Recovery program will particularly use funds from GCF and ADB to catalyze financing from development partners and private capital sources, so these could support more than $4 billion worth of renewable energy (RE) ventures in the region.
ADB said this is part of its efforts to help the region shape a climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The ACGF Green Recovery Program is designed to kickstart a cycle of low-emissions investments during the first few years of a COVID-19 recovery,” ADB Vice President Ahmed Saeed said in a statement.
“The program will help Southeast Asian countries design green stimulus packages and projects that will create climate-friendly jobs, boost economic growth, and help countries fulfill their pledges under the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” he continued.
The green recovery program will also give technical assistance and concessional loans to about 20 green infrastructure projects across Southeast Asia.
Within 30 years, these projects are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 119 million tons and it will create 340,000 green jobs in key sectors.
The ACGF will help support the green recovery program by attracting more than $1.4 billion in co-financing commitments. Aside from the Philippines, priority funding will also go to Cambodia, Indonesia, and Laos.
“The program seeks to accelerate the flow of green capital from banks, investors, and capital markets to Southeast Asia by helping de-risk and prepare bankable green infrastructure investments,” said ADB’s ACGF Unit Head Anouj Mehta.
“The program will also help countries scale up issuances of green and climate bonds to support sustainable growth in developing Southeast Asia,” he added.
The GCF is a global fund established to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
