The Philippines will soon receive a $500-million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support its climate action initiatives, according to the Department of Finance (DOF).
ADB president Asakawa announced during a high-level meeting on Aug. 28, 2024 at the ADB headquarters in Mandaluyong City that the development lender is finalizing the approval of a $500-million financing support to the Philippines under the Climate Change Action Program (CCAP) Subprogram 2.
The program is part of the ADB’s $10-billion climate finance commitment for the Philippines from 2024 and 2029, which was announced by President Asakawa during the COP28 in Dubai in 2023.
The financing commitment aims to improve the climate resilience of local communities, ecosystems, and the national economy. It focuses on investments in public transport, clean energy, disaster risk management and social protection.
The CCAP2 builds on the accomplishments of the CCAP1 signed in June 2022, which made the Philippines a pioneer of the ADB’s first-ever policy-based loan dedicated to climate action.
Asakawa also pledged to continue leveraging regional facilities such as the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to enhance the availability and accessibility of grant financing in the Philippines.
He said the ADB’s new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for the Philippines for 2024 to 2029 would be reviewed for consideration by the ADB board next week.
The CPS focuses on critical areas, including human development, economic competitiveness, quality infrastructure, climate action and private sector development.
Finance Secretary Ralph Recto expressed gratitude to Asakawa for the ABD’s steadfast support for the Philippines and the Filipino people, noting that ADB is the country’s top multilateral partner and second-largest source of official development assistance (ODA) commitments.
Recto assured the ADB that the government has strong political will to ensure that ODA projects are implemented with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.
