COP26: EU supports green economic recovery in ASEAN
Jakarta (VNA) – Director-General for International Partnerships at the European
Commission Koen Doens has highlighted the crucial role of programmes such as
the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance Facility (ACGF) in supporting green recovery
in Southeast Asia.
According to the Delegation of the European Union (EU) to ASEAN, Doens stated this
at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the
Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, the UK on November 2.
He said the ACGF, which was established by the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund and
managed by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will receive a contribution worth
50 million EUR (over 57.9 million USD) from the EU.
With pledges from the European Investment Bank (EIB), Germany’s Kreditanstalt
für Wiederaufbau (KfW), the Agence Française de Développement (AFD), and the
Italian state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, the total contribution of
Europe to the ACGF now reaches 783 million EUR (906 million USD).
Support from development partners for the ACGF is expected to mobilise 7 billion EUR for low-carbon and
climate-resilient infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia, accelerating the
region’s post-pandemic recovery.
To date, co-financing partners have pledged a total of 1.7 billion EUR (8.11 billion USD) to the
facility.
Doens said the ACGF will help ASEAN
countries build greener, fairer, and more sustainable economies, adding that the EU and its member states are
committed to supporting a comprehensive and environmentally friendly
post-pandemic recovery in the region.
The contribution to the
ACGF is part of EU-ASEAN cooperation on environment and climate change under
the Strategic Partnership, which, in addition to sustainable finance, includes
biodiversity; forest governance, law and trade; sustainable use of peatlands
and haze mitigation; emergency response; and smart cities./.