Canada and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) announced a partnership to create a new CA$360 million trust fund (US$255 million).
The Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for Private Sector in Asia (CANPA) will support private-sector projects in Asia and the Pacific focused on climate and nature-based solutions while accelerating gender equity. Canada is providing CA$350 million for project investments and CA$10 million for technical assistance.
ADB will administer CANPA on behalf of Canada to help private sector companies lower their greenhouse emissions, transition from carbon-based operations and improve their climate resilience.
The fund will lower risks to bring viable projects to market that would be unlikely to proceed solely on a commercial basis, while empowering women and girls by supporting their engagement in a just transition.
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,” he said.
The Asia and the Pacific region is responsible for more than half of global greenhouse gas emissions. It is susceptible to the most destructive effects of climate change, including damage from extreme weather, prolonged droughts and flooding.
More than 60 percent of the region’s population works in sectors most at risk from climate change.
The fund will encourage opportunistic investments, leveraging ADB’s private sector platform and capabilities. It follows the successful deployment of the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CFPS) in 2013 and CFPS II in 2017.
