The Asian Development Bank (ADB) plans to channel around $700 million from two new investment funds to its developing member countries as part of a broad global initiative to help developing countries meet the cost of actions needed to combat climate change.
Donor countries, including Australia, Britain, France, Germany, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States, had pledged more than $6.1 billion in 2008 for the Clean Technology Fund and Strategic Climate Fund.
"The climate investment funds (CIFs) are being made available to multilateral development banks, including the ADB, for climate change-related investments," according to an ADB statement received here yesterday.
"The CIFs provide concessionary funds for ADB to work together with developing member countries to transform to a low-carbon growth trajectory and strengthen their resilience to threats posed by climate change," the ADB statement said, quoting the Director-General of ADB's Regional and Sustainable Development Department, Xianbin Yao.
The Clean Technology Fund will support the deployment of low carbon energy technologies, such as wind, solar, hydro and geothermal power, as well as energy efficiency measures for industry, commercial buildings and municipalities.
The statement said activities supported by the fund would get co-financing from the ADB's regular operations and this was expected to mobilise additional financing from both the state and private sectors.