Australia is strengthening its co-operation with Southeast Asia through a new $10 million Climate and Clean Energy Window, designed to bolster the nations’ joint efforts on climate change and clean energy.
“Climate change is an existential threat to our region and we are working with our ASEAN partners to mitigate its impacts and accelerate the clean energy transition,” Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said.
“The new Climate and Clean Energy Window is one example of how we are creating opportunity and addressing shared challenges together.”
The Window, announced at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, will provide multi-year funding for climate and clean energy programs including technical capacity building, and will ensure Australia and ASEAN countries are sharing expertise and learning from each other.
Building on existing cooperation, the Window will enable Australian Commonwealth and State and Territory Government agencies to expand and sustain lasting relationships with Southeast Asian counterparts on climate change and the clean energy transformation.
It will also include a flexible funding stream to respond to partner country requests.
The Window will be the first initiative to be designed under the Southeast Asia Government-to-Government Partnerships program, announced by the Albanese Government in 2023.
It will also support implementation of Invested: Australia’s Southeast Asia Economic Strategy to 2040, which recognises the critical enabling role of government-to-government partnerships and the opportunities and challenges of the clean energy transformation.
“Australia is strengthening cooperation with our ASEAN partners, working together to rewire our region and build new clean energy manufacturing and trade opportunities,” Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said.
“The $10 million Climate and Clean Energy Window will assist to build capability across the region to respond to climate change and accelerate the clean energy transformation.”
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