Climate Finance Landscape of Southeast Asia—Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities

Despite being one of the most vulnerable regions to climate change, Southeast Asia received only $27.8 billion in climate finance in 2018–2019, representing a 5% share of total flows to Asia and the Pacific.

Southeast Asian countries have emphasized the urgency of shifting from fossil fuel–based energy to cleaner energy generation, to increase the share of renewable energy sources in the energy mix by 2030. As a result, during the same period, mitigation finance accounted for 84% of total climate finance in Southeast Asia, mostly for the renewable energy (50%) and transport sectors (42%). Adaptation finance, however, accounted for only 12% of the climate finance total, mainly going to priority sectors such as land use change and forestry, natural resource management, and water and wastewater management.

The “Climate Finance Landscape of Southeast Asia—Gaps, Challenges and Opportunities” webinar examined the obstacles of the uneven adaptation-mitigation funding and the implications for the region. It also identified opportunities to narrow the gap and looked at the roles of both the public and private sectors in accelerating the delivery of climate change solutions. Gaps in climate finance flows, from the sources (e.g., public, private) to the financing instruments employed (e.g., loans, grants) and the uses of funds (e.g., adaptation, mitigation, sectors), and related challenges and opportunities were also discussed.

Hosted by the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Southeast Asia Department’s Green Finance Hub (GFH), the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF), and the Southeast Asia Development Solutions (SEADS), this webinar sought to enhance knowledge of climate finance and support ADB's developing member countries, particularly those in Southeast Asia, in expanding climate change action.

Discussions were anchored on findings from two recent publications—Climate Finance Landscape of Asia and the Pacific from ADB and Global Landscape of Climate Finance from Climate Policy Initiative.

GFH provides crosscutting support to help ADB's developing member countries in Southeast Asia accelerate green investments and advance innovative financing solutions in response to the region's climate, energy, and financing needs.

The ACGF is an ASEAN Infrastructure Fund initiative supporting governments in Southeast Asia to prepare and finance infrastructure projects that promote environmental sustainability and contribute to climate change goals. The ACGF is owned by ASEAN governments and ADB and is managed by GFH.

Speakers

• Esmyra P. Javier, Climate Change Specialist (Climate Finance), ADB
• Luthfyana Larasati, Manager, Climate Finance Program, Climate Policy Initiative
• Chiara Falduto, Policy Analyst, Environment Directorate, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
• Naeeda Crishna Morgado, Senior Infrastructure Specialist (Climate Finance), ADB
• Tristan Knowles, Investment Specialist (Climate Finance), ADB