From April 1 to 4, 2024, Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, Climate Investment Funds (CIF), and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) hosted the high-level “Asia-Pacific Knowledge Exchange (APKE)” in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. His Excellency Dr. AUN Pornmoniroth, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance of the Kingdom of Cambodia, opened the meeting, with the Hon. Lautimuia Afoa Uelese Vaai, Minister of Finance Samoa, Ms. Tariye Gbadegesin, CIF Chief Executive Officer, and Mr. Warren Evans, ADB Special Senior Advisor, Climate Change. The forum included 13 countries from across the Asia-Pacific region including Bangladesh, Bhutan, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, Philippines. Samoa, Tajikistan, and Tonga.
The 4-day meeting in Phnom Penh drew on diverse lessons and experiences from implementing programs on climate resilience, sustainable forestry, and nature-based solutions to demonstrate the impact of investments financed under CIF’s Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) and the Forest Investment Program (FIP). The forum also incorporated the perspectives of multilateral development banks, local community groups, and others working across the climate finance spectrum.
CIF’s 15-year track record of climate finance across Asia-Pacific has been tailored to the diverse challenges countries face in this region. This includes:
Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia: Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance of the Government of the Kingdom of Cambodia, H.E. Dr. AUN Pornmoniroth
"The Royal Government of the 7th legislature of the National Assembly, under the wise leadership with a long-term vision of Samdech Moha Bovor Thipadei Hun Manet, an outstanding and bright young leader, has adopted the “Pentagonal Strategy - Phase 1” for growth, employment, equity, efficiency, and sustainability and sets out five specific strategic goals, the fifth of which is to ensure the sustainability of socio-economic development and to build resilience to climate change. Cambodia has also made ambitious climate commitments through the “Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)” and the “Long-Term Strategy for Carbon Neutrality (LTS4CN)” to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.”
Climate Investment Funds Chief Executive Officer: Tariye Gbadegesin
“The CIF has an extensive track record of partnering with countries and catalyzing climate actions through investments that build resilience for people, infrastructure, and ecosystems in some of the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world. Here in the Asia-Pacific region, we have so many rich examples of successes, as well as challenges. These are not just boxes to tick. They are real-world lessons from real projects that touched the lives of real people. The knowledge, experiences, and evidence give us more than an understanding of how we are building resilience against climate change. They help us learn and inform our future investments and interventions here in Cambodia, the Asia-Pacific region, and beyond.”
Asian Development Bank (ADB) Special Senior Advisor and Climate Envoy in the Office of the President: Warren Evans
“We are convinced that the battle against climate change will be won or lost in Asia and the Pacific. This is why the ADB, together with the CIF, have worked on transformational changes, not just in Cambodia, but all throughout Asia and the Pacific. And while we have already learned much about climate change mitigation, we’re always searching for better approaches to tackle climate change adaptation and long-term investments in resilience.”
“The partnership shown by our speakers this morning – a development bank and a multilateral climate fund, being guided in their work by the needs of our countries of operations – is the perfect illustration of how complex and multifaceted sustainable international development is, and how knowledge management is key to achieving lasting impact.”
About Climate Investment Funds
The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) is one of the largest multilateral climate funds in the world. Established in 2008 to mobilize finance for climate-smart solutions at scale in developing countries, CIF is the only climate fund working exclusively through 6 triple-A-rated multilateral development banks. Through large-scale, low-cost, long-term financing we lower the risk and cost of climate investment, helping to get first-of-their-kind projects off the ground and contribute to transformational change.
To date, 15 contributor countries have pledged over US $ 12 billion, while our committed capital has unlocked more than $64 billion in additional financing in over 80 countries worldwide. Our country-led, flexible, and inclusive approach has successfully built track records in unproven green markets, incentivized governments to make bold investment decisions, and crowded in additional sources of finance for pioneering climate solutions.