Balancing act

Southeast Asia is in a tricky position when it comes to receiving climate finance as stipulated by COP29. On the one hand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Cambodia were, until 2019, among the 20 countries most exposed to climate risks, according to the Global Climate Risk Index, which is published by nonprofit Germanwatch.

But Southeast Asia is expected to continue its fast economic growth, accompanied by more greenhouse gas emissions, said Kim Jeong Won, a senior research fellow at ESI.

This growth has reclassified many ASEAN nations as middle-income countries, reducing their eligibility for development financing, she added.

Among the developing nations, the least developed countries and small island developing states are recognized as having the greatest need for support.

Given the competition for funding, a significant gap exists between the required investments and actual finance that the countries have received. For example, only 9.7 percent of investments from the UN's Green Climate Fund — the world's largest fund of its kind — has been channeled to Southeast Asia.

Similarly, only 6.3 percent of investments from the UN's Adaptation Fund has been allocated to ASEAN countries, Kim said.

She added, "Southeast Asian countries are expected to compete for limited bilateral and multilateral public funding with other low-income developing countries."

If they want to attract a greater share of private funding, it is vital that countries develop more innovative finance models and attractive climate-related projects, she said.

THE STRAITS TIMES, SINGAPORE