The Advisory Group on Climate Finance (AGF) was set up to identify an additional US$100 billion in climate finance from developed countries, to support climate change adaptation and mitigation actions in developing countries. The recent AGF report (Report of the Secretary-General's High-level Advisory Group on Climate Change Financing) concluded that finding the extra money was “challenging but feasible”. However, turning the AGF recommendations into tangible flows of new finance will require political leadership at a senior level. This report aims to alert senior policy-makers to the importance of the AGF recommendations and the opportunities (and challenges) they create for Asia.Key messages:
the AGF report identifies many opportunities for Asia, for example low-carbon investment from the private sector
building on a good track record, the private sector can finance much of Asia’s emission reduction needs
the AGF’s recommendations to use public resources to leverage private investment are important for Asia
adaptation to climate change will typically require public revenues
some of the revenue sources identified by the AGF may have negative impacts on Asia, although it will be possible to devise compensation arrangements for these
the Copenhagen Accord target of US$100 billion per year is unlikely to be sufficient to meet Asia’s needs