Climate Finance Fundamentals 8: Regional Briefing - Asia

Climate Funds Update (CFU) data shows that for 17 countries in Asia a total of USD 5.7 billion for 530 projects and programmes has been approved by 17 multilateral climate funds and initiatives. The diversity of active funds in the region is not matched in the distribution of finance. Considerable amounts of finance have flowed to fast-growing economies such as India and Indonesia, primarily for mitigation projects. On the other hand, a number of nations at considerable risk to climate change, such as Sri Lanka, have received relatively little. USD 681 million was newly approved in 2020, with mitigation receiving greater approval value than adaptation, REDD+ and cross-cutting projects. The Green Climate Fund (GCF), funding the first year under its first replenishment period (GCF-1), was the biggest contributor in the region in 2020, accounting for 86% of new approvals.