Distinguished partners, colleagues, guests – good afternoon.

It is a pleasure to be part of this high-level dialogue on Advancing Implementation of the NDCs.

The core challenge facing effective climate action across ASEAN is clear: the region has an ambitious climate agenda; the gap is in delivery. 

The question is, how do we close this delivery gap?

The answer lies in anchoring NDCs in development planning through a whole-of- government and whole of society approach.

In this regard, moving the sole responsibility for the NDCs from Ministries of Environment to Ministries of Finance and Planning in combination with sectoral ministries like Environment & others will be key -  thereby ensuring that climate action is treated as the critical macro-economic priority, that it is.

Investing into climate action and low carbon, nature positive developments create new markets and accelerate GDP growth. We are already seeing green investments becoming a key driver of economic growth in some countries in Asia. For example, in China, clean energy contributed to about one fifth of 5.2% GDP growth in 2023 (and to 50% of the growth in total investment).

Moving from commitment to delivery importantly also requires a conceptual shift in our approach. We view this as a  four-fold  pathway:

• Policy: Climate action must be a core component of national policy and long-term development strategies, not a technical add-on.

• Planning: This means integrating NDC targets into national and sectoral plans through a structured approach, championed by Ministries of Finance and Planning. UNDP has been working with Ministries of Finance in the region to use the evidence generated by climate budget tagging to inform development planning decision-making the sectoral level for example in Bangladesh, Cambodia and Fiji.

• Budgeting: Governments must align public finance with their climate goals.  The Government of Sri Lanka, for instance, developed a Climate Finance Strategy with UNDP support that aligns its NDC priorities with clear financing mechanisms.

• Crowding in investment: While public finance is necessary, it is insufficient. We must create the conditions to crowd in private finance by building bankable project pipelines. To facilitate this, UNDP recently launched a Blended Finance Framework, now being piloted in Cambodia, India and Malaysia to establish dedicated climate investment facilities.

Ultimately, delivery is about political will, institutional coordination, sustained leadership and joint efforts.

Having supported more than 120 countries to prepare their NDCs submissions, UNDP through our Climate Promise Forward is helping countries ensure these commitments are not just environmental targets, but the foundation of national development plans and long-term low-emission strategies.

As we highlight the Climate Promise (– the world’s largest offer for NDC support -), I would like to acknowledge our development partners, including the EU, the UK, Sweden, Germany, Japan, and others whose continued support enables this work.

ASEAN is not only a platform for sharing and learning, but for driving real change together.

UNDP, building on a portfolio of active projects worth USD 386 million deployed across Asia and the Pacific, is committed to working with partner governments, IFIs, and development partners to turn ASEAN’s climate ambition into tangible results.

Thank you.