By Francis Allan L. Angelo
The Government of Canada and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have partnered to create a new Can$360 million (approximately $255 million) trust fund to support private-sector climate action and nature-based solutions in Asia and the Pacific.
The Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for Private Sector in Asia (CANPA) aims to accelerate gender equity while promoting environmental sustainability.
Canada is contributing Can$350 million for project investments and Can$10 million for technical assistance.
ADB will administer CANPA to assist private sector companies in reducing greenhouse emissions, transitioning from carbon-based operations, and enhancing climate resilience. The fund will help bring viable projects to market by lowering risks that might otherwise hinder purely commercial ventures.
It will also finance nature-based solutions, such as sustainable agriculture and aquaculture, to protect, manage, and restore ecosystems.
“This fund continues and deepens our decade-long partnership with Canada to help Asia and the Pacific mobilize private capital to advance the fight against climate change,” said ADB Vice-President for Market Solutions Bhargav Dasgupta.
“CANPA will help accelerate the region’s transition to low carbon and climate-resilient growth by lowering financing risks and making projects more commercially bankable, with a specific emphasis on empowering women and girls.”
Asia and the Pacific are responsible for over half of global greenhouse gas emissions and are highly susceptible to the adverse effects of climate change, such as extreme weather, prolonged droughts, and flooding.
More than 60% of the region’s population is employed in sectors most vulnerable to climate change.
CANPA aims to leverage ADB’s private sector platform and capabilities to encourage opportunistic investments. The initiative follows the successful deployment of the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CFPS) in 2013 and CFPS II in 2017.
ADB, established in 1966 and owned by 68 members—49 from the region—is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific while continuing efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.