The Government of Canada, in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), has unveiled a new C$360 million trust fund (approximately $255 million). Named the Canadian Climate and Nature Fund for Private Sector in Asia (CANPA), this initiative aims to bolster private-sector efforts in Asia and the Pacific that focus on climate and nature-based solutions, while also promoting gender equity.
Canada will contribute C$350 million towards project investments and an additional C$10 million for technical assistance.
The ADB will manage CANPA for Canada, aiding private companies in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, transitioning away from carbon-intensive operations, and enhancing their climate resilience.
The fund intends to mitigate risks to help bring viable projects to the market that may not proceed on purely commercial grounds. It also seeks to support women and girls by including them in a fair transition and will fund nature-based methods like sustainable agriculture and aquaculture to protect and restore ecosystems.
Vice-President for Market Solutions Bhargav Dasgupta said, “This fund continues and deepens our decade-long partnership with Canada to help Asia and the Pacific mobilise private capital to advance the fight against climate change. CANPA will help accelerate the region’s transition to low carbon and climate-resilient growth by lowering financing risks and making projects more commercially bankable, with a specific emphasis on empowering women and girls.”
The Asia and Pacific region, which accounts for over half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, faces severe threats from climate change effects, such as extreme weather events, prolonged droughts, and floods. Over 60% of the area’s workforce is employed in sectors that are highly vulnerable to climate change impacts.
CANPA encourages strategic investments, leveraging the capabilities and private sector platform of the ADB. It builds on the successes of the Canadian Climate Fund for the Private Sector in Asia (CFPS) launched in 2013 and CFPS II in 2017.
