Advancing Regional Cooperation on Climate Finance in ASEAN
The ASEAN High-Level Policy Dialogue on Climate Finance was convened on 9 April 2026 in Manila (virtual format).
Convened under the Philippines’ ASEAN Chairship, the High-Level Policy Dialogue gathered Southeast Asia’s finance leaders to strengthen collaboration, share priorities, and advance climate-responsive fiscal and financial policies in the region.
The ASEAN High-Level Policy Dialogue on Climate Finance was convened on 9 April 2026 in Manila (virtual format), on the margins of the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting. The meeting gathered finance ministers, deputy ministers, and senior officials from 10 ASEAN Member States. The dialogue provided a timely platform to address the growing fiscal and macroeconomic pressures faced by Ministries of Finance amid tightening fiscal space, global economic uncertainties, and escalating climate risks.
The session featured opening and welcome remarks from the Philippines’ Department of Finance and ADB, followed by a keynote presentation that set the global and regional context for climate finance. A ministerial roundtable discussion brought together representatives from Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Viet Nam, who shared country perspectives on advancing climate-resilient fiscal planning, investment programming, and public financial management.
Discussions highlighted the critical role of finance ministries in mobilizing climate finance, integrating climate risks into fiscal frameworks, and deploying policy tools, such as carbon pricing, environmental taxes, green bonds, and climate budgeting. Participants also emphasized the need to balance immediate economic pressures—including rising energy prices and inflation—with long-term climate and development priorities.
The dialogue underscored the importance of strengthening regional cooperation to address capacity gaps, harmonize standards, and facilitate cross-border flows of sustainable finance. There was strong support for scaling both public and private finance, improving fiscal risk management, and advancing climate-responsive public financial management systems across ASEAN.
The dialogue resulted in renewed commitment by ASEAN finance ministries to advance collaboration on climate finance and in the endorsement of the ASEAN Climate Finance Policy Platform as a regional mechanism supporting coordination, capacity building, and knowledge exchange.
