Ministries of Finance from across Asia and the Pacific gathered at an ADB-hosted roundtable to exchange insights and coordinate efforts on climate finance, with a focus on scaling up funding aligned with global climate goals.
Bangkok, Thailand – July 30, 2025
Finance officials from 25 countries in Asia and the Pacific met in Bangkok for a three-day roundtable and knowledge-sharing event organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The gathering, held from July 28 to 30, brought together representatives from finance ministries, regional organizations, donors, and experts from the public and private sectors, philanthropy, and academia.
The event is part of ADB’s Fiscal Resilience Initiative, launched in 2024 to help finance ministries align national budgets with climate objectives. Sponsored by regional technical assistance partners, the discussions centered on the role of finance ministries in enabling climate-aligned reforms, managing fiscal risks, and mobilizing resources for climate action.
Speakers included representatives from the ADB, UNFCCC Secretariat, the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action (CFMCA), and other stakeholders. The agenda focused on technical and capacity challenges in accessing and deploying climate finance, with sessions on budget tagging, tracking, and innovative reporting approaches.
The roundtable also addressed the Baku to Belém Roadmap to $1.3 trillion, a global effort to reform the financial architecture and accelerate climate funding. Participants discussed how finance ministries can contribute to this process and amplify their collective voice in global forums.
“The event showed the power of regional collaboration, and the contribution of regional partners in supporting Finance Ministers. The Asian Platform launched by the ADB is clearly working.”
“I was impressed by the engagement of many Asian countries in engaging Finance Ministries in climate policies. Progress in the past few years has been considerable. Many countries expressed interest to join the Coalition in view of working together to address shared challenges.”
The role of the COP30 Circle of Finance Ministers was also discussed, with emphasis on its potential to support negotiations and implementation strategies. The event provided a space for peer-to-peer learning and highlighted the opportunities offered by Coalition membership in shaping fiscal and financial responses to climate change.
As countries prepare for COP30, the Bangkok discussions stressed the importance of regional platforms in building momentum and sharing expertise to meet climate finance goals.