Speech delivered to the Asian Development Bank’s Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific event at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan

As a foundational member, Australia is very proud to be a long-standing supporter of the Asian Development Bank, and Australia strongly supports the bank's efforts to accelerate climate and clean energy investment in the region.  

The Asia Pacific region is extraordinarily diverse, that is its strength, and with climate change presenting a range of different risks and opportunities to different countries within it, we have to make sure that our response reflects that diversity.

The risks and opportunities are distinctive, which means that financing solutions are needed to respond to the needs and priorities across the Asia Pacific. Australia is committed to working with its regional partners to tackle climate change and to help shape and implement oportunities as part of the energy transition. 

Without question, the Asian Development Bank has been a leader in the development and utilisation of innovative financing mechanisms to both catalyse and galvanise greater finance and investment into regional mitigation and adaptation priorities, and in setting high-level standards and expectations through the Asian Development Bank's ambitious goal to deliver more than US $100 billion in climate finance by 2030 and for climate finance to reach 50 per cent of the total of committed institutional finance by the same year. That is remarkable.

The Innovative Finance Facility for Climate in Asia and the Pacific –IF-CAP – is the latest example of the ADB's leadership in designing and championing innovative fit-for-purpose models. Leveraging guarantees to crowd in finance is not a new concept. It is a way in which the Asian Development Bank has shaped this as a standalone program, it should serve as a leading example of how multilateral development banks can draw in greater investment to support regional climate priorities. 

To this end, I'm really pleased tonight to be able to announce that Australia will be guaranteeing up to US $200 million through IF-CAP.

We're glad that Australia was able to use its AAA credit rating to help boost ADB's financial capacity and operations in our region.

I'm proud that Australia is among this group of founding partners, and I'm energised by the prospect of accelerating the financial support for adaptation and mitigation projects that meet the needs and interests of our neighbours and our partners.

Australia's participation in this innovative program is an important contribution to improve the prosperity of our region and to address an urgent global challenge, namely the need to step up action on climate change.

This commitment builds on Australia's existing support in the region, including our announcements at COP28, to provide a contribution of Australian $100 million to the Pacific Resilience Facility, a Pacific-owned and led initiative for climate finance, and to contribute AUD$50 million to the Green Climate Fund. 

Ladies and gentlemen, we look forward to seeing the impacts of the IF-CAP initiative and again, we thank the Asian Development Bank for convening today's event. Thank you.