United Kingdom launches £1.1- billion climate financing for Philippine, Asian peers

Upgrade to High-Speed Internet for only ₱1499/month!

Enjoy up to 100 Mbps fiber broadband, perfect for browsing, streaming, and gaming.

Visit Suniway.ph to learn

April 25, 2026 | 12:00am

MANILA, Philippines — The United Kingdom is set to mobilize £1.1 billion in capital to support the Philippines and other developing Asian economies in advancing energy transition and climate goals.

British International Investment, the UK’s development finance institution, has unveiled a new five-year strategy that includes the launch of British Climate Partners (BCP) to help bridge Asia’s climate finance gap.

Through BCP, BII will partner with private investors to deploy capital via a mix of equity platforms and mezzanine finance to scale climate projects, lower early-stage risks and enhance potential returns.

The initiative will focus on investments that could accelerate the energy transition in fast-growing economies with coal-reliant power grids, including India, the Philippines and other Southeast Asian countries.

“Asia’s energy transition will depend on mobilizing private capital at scale and British Climate Partners is designed to do exactly that,” BII managing director and head of Asia Srini Nagarajan said.

“Through this new initiative, we’ll use our experience, capital and partnerships to build platforms, derisk projects and crowd in long-term investment into commercially viable climate opportunities across the region,” Nagarajan added.

The Asian Development Bank estimates that Southeast Asia will require $210 billion in climate-resilient infrastructure investments annually, noting that public finance alone is insufficient to meet this need.

The multilateral lender has highlighted the critical role of private, institutional and commercial financing in helping the region meet its Paris Agreement commitments and sustainable development goals.

The Philippines, which has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 75 percent by 2030, is pivoting away from coal-fired power plants while rolling out more renewable energy projects.

Currently, coal accounts for over 60 percent of the country’s power generation mix, with renewables making up only 25 percent.

Under the Philippine Energy Plan, the government aims to scale up the share of renewables to 35 percent by 2030 and 50 percent by 2040.

However, the country risks losing momentum in its energy transition push as the ongoing global oil crisis has prompted the government to consider lifting the existing ban on new coal projects.

According to the International Energy Agency, the Philippines is projected to remain one of Southeast Asia’s largest coal consumers through 2030 despite its bold clean energy targets.