New Australian government initiative to support Indo-Pacific climate action

CANBERRA, Nov. 15 (Xinhua) — The Australian government has launched a new initiative to accelerate climate action in the Indo-Pacific.
Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong and Pat Conroy, the Minister for International Development and the Pacific, on Friday announced the establishment of the Climate Catalyst Window, a new program that will drive private investment into the net-zero transition in the Indo-Pacific.
“The Climate Catalyst Window will unlock the potential of climate-focused businesses to help drive the climate action our region has been asking for,” Wong said in a statement.
The 126 million Australian dollar (81.2 million U.S. dollar) initiative will be backed by Australian Development Investments (ADI), the government’s early-stage investment fund for Indo-Pacific businesses.
Under the new initiative, ADI will use concessional finance to make climate solutions more attractive to private investors.
Projects will also be provided with technical assistance.
Conroy said that the targeted investment program would empower climate-focused small and medium enterprises to innovate, grow and contribute to the global net-zero transformation.
The initiative was launched to coincide with the 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku.
The government said that funds recovered from the ADI’s investments under the program will be reinvested to support a pipeline of projects into the future. ■