On 2 November, at the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Koen Doens, Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission, highlighted the crucial role of programs such as the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) in accompanying green recovery in Southeast Asia.
According to this press release by the Delegation of the European Union to ASEAN, this Facility, established by the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will receive a European Union contribution of € 50 million. With pledges from the European Investment Bank, Germany’s Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau, the Agence Française de Développement, and the Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the total Team Europe contribution to the ACGF now reaches € 783 million.
Support from development partners for the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility is expected to mobilize € 7 billion for low-carbon and climate-resilient infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, accelerating the region’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic. To date, co-financing partners have pledged a total of € 1.7 billion (US$ 2 billion) to the facility.
“In the context of a rapidly warming planet, we urgently need to rethink our approach to infrastructure development. The ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility will help ASEAN countries build greener, fairer, and more sustainable economies. I am glad that Team Europe can contribute to this effort,” said Koen Doens, Director-General for International Partnerships at the European Commission.
Countries in the ASEAN region, which are among the most vulnerable in the world to the impacts of climate change, are tackling the economic and social impacts of the coronavirus pandemic. The EU and its Member States are committed to supporting an inclusive and environmentally friendly post-pandemic recovery in ASEAN.
The contribution to the ACGF is part of EU-ASEAN cooperation on environment and climate change under the Strategic Partnership, which, in addition to sustainable finance, includes biodiversity; forest governance, law and trade; sustainable use of peatlands and haze mitigation; emergency response; and smart cities.
