The Commonwealth Government is strengthening its co-operation with Southeast Asia through a new $10 million Climate and Clean Energy Window, designed to bolster joint efforts on climate change and clean energy.
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Announced at the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit in Melbourne, the window will provide multi-year funding for climate and clean energy programs including technical capacity building.
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 Labor 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.
Minister for Climate Change and Energy Chris Bowen said, “Australia is strengthening cooperation with our ASEAN partners, working together to rewire our region and build new clean energy manufacturing and trade opportunities.
“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.”
Minister for Foreign Affairs Penny Wong said, “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.
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“The new Climate and Clean Energy Window is one example of how we are creating opportunity and addressing shared challenges together.”