BANGKOK — Asian Development Bank (ADB) Vice-President for East and Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Scott Morris along with ADB Country Director Anouj Mehta launched a new climate finance-focused program in Thailand with Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment’s Department of Climate Change and Environment (DCCE) Director General Phirun Saiyasitpanich during Mr. Morris’ visit to the country on 24–28 June.
The technical assistance project—Accelerating Climate Finance in Thailand—supports Thailand to accelerate finance flows from all sources—public, private, and capital markets—to achieve its net-zero targets. It features policy support to develop innovative finance approaches and catalytic climate finance mechanisms, development of road maps and pilot projects in challenging sectors including electric mobility, resilient cities, and biodiversity, as well as capacity building on innovative climate finance.
“Thailand’s extreme vulnerability to climate change means that we need to accelerate green finance flows from private and public sectors. We will support Thailand in developing innovative finance tools such as national derisking finance mechanisms and sustainability linked incentive bonds. We will also work with DCCE to develop bankable project models in challenging areas that are under-financed by private capital thus far,” said Mr. Morris. “ADB’s renewed sovereign program in Thailand is already integrating its technical assistance, capacity building, and financing support together for this end goal.”
“We look to ADB to bring innovation and value with sector-focused ideas and finance mechanisms from its wide range of experiences,” said Mr. Phirun. “We also need to consider all instruments that will help us achieve both current and future national climate targets, particularly access to all types of finance, including public and private investment supported by international mechanisms.”
The visit marks an upsurge of innovative climate-focused activity by ADB in Thailand which aims to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050. The expansion builds on a number of innovative climate-focused financing initiatives already underway, including Green, Social, and Sustainable Bonds (or GSS + Initiative) and the Bio-Circular Green Growth Initiative.
Mr. Morris also represented ADB in a signing with the Agence française de développement, which committed €1 million to support the Nature Solutions Finance Hub for Climate and the Environment. The hub, managed by ADB, supports the development of nature-based solutions across Asia and the Pacific.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.