Asian Development Bank secures US$300m funding for 'green recovery' projects

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has secured US$300 million in funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) climate-resilient and environmentally sustainable economic recovery in South-east Asia.

The GCF is a global fund created to help developing countries address the challenge of climate change. ADB has received 12 funding approvals totaling US$948 million since becoming an accredited GCF entity in 2015.

The funds secured will go towards Asean Catalytic Green Recovery Program (ACGF), which aims to catalyse financing from development partners and private capital sources to fund green infrastructure projects worth more than US$4 billion across the region.

ADB will prioritise the use of GCF funding under the programme for investment projects in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos and the Philippines.

The supported projects will incorporate green finance instruments and approaches.

Over a 30-year period, projects are expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 119 million tonnes and create 340,000 green jobs in sectors such as sustainable transport, renewable energy and energy efficiency systems, low-carbon agriculture and natural resources.

ACGF looks to help South-east Asian countries bridge a gap in financing green infrastructure, which has widened during the pandemic as the region's economy contracted by 4.4 per cent in 2020, ADB said in a press statement. South-east Asia's regional investment needs were estimated at US$210 billion even before the pandemic hit, it added.

"The programme seeks to accelerate the flow of green capital from banks, investors, and capital markets to South-east Asia by helping de-risk and prepare bankable green infrastructure investments," said ADB's ACGF unit head Anouj Mehta.

"The programme will also help countries scale up issuances of green and climate bonds to support sustainable growth in developing South-east Asia," he added.