Pledges amounting to $665 million from various groups poured in for the Asian Development Bank (ADB)-led platform promoting green and climate-resilient infrastructure in Southeast Asia.

The ADB recognized the following groups for the pledges:

• the Green Climate Fund: $300 million
• Italy’s state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti: $155 million
• the United Kingdom government: $151 million
• the European Union: €50 million

ADB president Masagatsu Asakawa said that the Asean countries now have “a unique opportunity to build a green and inclusive future after the COVID-19 pandemic.” Through the green recovery platform, Southeast Asian nations, including the Philippines, will stand to benefit from the acceleration of the flow of investments to support climate-resilient, environmentally sustainable infrastructure projects in the region, which will then boost sustainable, equitable development.

The pledges from the four new partners took place at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

“The new funding will add to the $1.4 billion in co-financing commitments already pledged to the ACGF since 2019, bringing total pledges to the facility to $2 billion. The original financing partners supporting ACGF include the ADB, Agence Française de Développement, the European Investment Bank, the German state-owned development bank KfW, and the government of [South] Korea,” the ADB said.

Collectively, the $7 billion “green recovery platform” financing being eyed for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) will benefit from the pledges. The ACGF, established by the Asean Infrastructure Fund and co-owned by the finance ministries of the regional grouping’s 10 member-states, is managed by the ADB.

“The Asean green recovery platform forms part of the ADB’s commitment to raising its ambition for 2019-2030 cumulative climate financing to $100 billion, while ensuring that at least 75 percent of projects will address climate change mitigation and adaptation by 2030,” the Manila-based multilateral lender said.

“The platform will provide financing and technical assistance to reduce investment risks and catalyze public and private financing for green infrastructure projects that create jobs and bolster growth. It will also support the efforts of Asean developing member-countries to reach their climate goals under the Paris Agreement and help them strengthen green capital markets, such as by expanding the issuance of green and climate bonds,” it added.

Reference: This story was originally published in Inquirer.net.