Australia is working with our Indo-Pacific partners to deliver on our joint commitment to scale up mitigation and ensure adaptation support in response to the shared challenge of climate change.
Today I announce Australian support for two new climate investments that will raise up to $500 million to support countries in Southeast Asia to adapt to climate change through better management of forests, land and agriculture.
These investments form part of the Morrison Government’s recent decision to increase its climate finance to $2 billion through to 2025 to support mitigation and adaptation efforts in our region.
The investments leverage the Australian Government’s development assistance to mobilise much larger levels of private sector investment into the region.
The Australian Climate Finance Partnership will make its initial investment of around $13 million in a Southeast Asia sustainable forestry fund – the Tropical Asia Forest Fund 2. This contribution will target climate, biodiversity, and livelihood outcomes associated with the fund’s forestry activities and help to mobilise a total fund size of $300 million. Investments will be made in Malaysia and Indonesia, and potentially other countries in the region.
The Australian Government is also providing separate design assistance through our partnership with Convergence Blended Finance for a new Asia Climate-Smart Landscape Fund in Indonesia. This fund aims to mobilise $200 million and will support long-term loans to small and medium enterprises to achieve sustainable agriculture, land regeneration, and forest protection outcomes.
By bringing the resources and expertise of the public and private sectors together, the Australian Government is amplifying the impact of our climate finance. This not only increases the pool of climate finance available in partner countries, but also encourages solutions that support sustainability and resilience.
These new investments highlight the Australian Government’s commitment to deepening our climate cooperation with partners across Southeast Asia in ways that focus on the region’s priorities.
