Key highlights include a presentation on Thailand’s current climate finance landscape, based on CFNT’s Climate Finance Tracker, and a panel discussion featuring regional climate finance experts from the World Bank, the Singapore Green Finance Centre, and Greenovation Hub
BANGKOK, 1 October 2025 — Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT), the Thailand-based think tank promoting sustainable finance and advancing the country’s low-carbon transition, yesterday hosted an event convening experts from across Asia to discuss the importance of increasing financing for critical climate mitigation and adaptation activities. Titled ‘Mobilizing Climate Finance for a Climate Resilient Bangkok’, the event was held during the inaugural Bangkok Climate Action Week—a regional, whole-of-society climate gathering celebrating local leadership and collective imagination for a climate-safe, inclusive future in Southeast Asia.
CFNT’s event builds upon the launch of its Climate Finance Tracker, the first-of-its-kind tool in Thailand developed to provide more insights into how financial resources are being mobilized to address the effects of climate change. It is designed to reveal existing funding gaps and help spark collaborative action for climate change activities between the public and private sectors via greater data- and insights-sharing.
“Especially in large, dense urban centers such as Bangkok, climate change is adversely impacting critical infrastructure and societal well-being, yet there is still a substantial financing gap in addressing mitigation and adaptation activities,” said Sarinee Achavanuntakul, Managing Director, Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT). “A key factor is the lack of a clear picture of current climate finance flows—one which can help spark more meaningful, collaborative action between the public and private sectors towards mobilizing the funds required to support climate resilience activities in Bangkok, as well as other urban centers across Asia.”
Mobilizing Climate Finance for a Climate Resilient Bangkok
The event began Thanida Lawseriwanich, Head of Research, CFNT, delivering a presentation of Thailand’s climate finance landscape. She highlighted that the country has invested at least THB 1.7 trillion in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation between 2018 and May 2025, while at least THB148.1 billion was invested in climate adaptation measures in 2020-2024 Between 2020 and 2024. However, Thailand’s Department of Climate Change and Environment stated the country still requires at least THB10.3 trillion more in mitigation — highlighting the significant climate financing gap that Thailand must close, also may lost around 1 billion per year if not strengthen public and private infrastructure for climate adaptation
Zooming in Thailand’s local administrations, not include Bangkok, the data reveals particularly low levels of investment. For mitigation, local authorities allocated just THB 8.7 billion—equivalent to only 3.5% of the government’s total climate-related mitigation budget. Spending was even smaller for adaptation at just THB 1.5 billion, less than 1% of the total. This underscores the urgent need for local administrations to significantly scale up investment in climate resilience.
Meanwhile, updated information from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), received by CFNT, shows that in 2025 the city allocated a total of 20.24 billion baht—equivalent to 22% of its overall budget—for climate change response. The allocation is divided into 13.14 billion baht for climate mitigation, 6.27 billion baht for climate adaptation and 470 million bahtfor climate change prevention.
Financing Bangkok’s Climate Resilience – Priorities and Challenges
CFNT’s presentation was followed by a panel discussion about the importance and challenges around mobilizing funding for improving climate resilience in Bangkok and other similarly dense urban settings across the region. The panelists included Dr. Ornsaran Manuamorn, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank; Nikki Kemp, Executive Director, the Singapore Green Finance Centre; and Guo Hongyu, Deputy Director of Greenovation Hub. The panel unanimously agreed that data, innovation, and collaboration are critical drivers for transitioning Asia’s financial systems toward a low-carbon and climate-resilient economy.
“One major bottleneck in scaling climate finance is the lack of bankable and creative projects. Financiers are ready to invest and are often looking for greener assets than what is currently available. Yet, there are many opportunities in areas such as nature-based solutions, water management, and health-related projects addressing issues like heat stress. If more of these projects come on board, they will be crucial in mobilizing greater urban climate investments. The 2026 IMF–World Bank Group Annual Meetings in Bangkok present a timely opportunity to showcase Thailand’s leadership in advancing climate finance and to demonstrate to the world how innovative projects can drive sustainable urban development,” said Dr. Ornsaran Manuamorn, Senior Financial Sector Specialist, World Bank.
“When we talk about resilience, it is inherently local. We have to respond to the specific needs of each community. One of the guiding principles of our work in climate finance is that research and education must be rooted in these local realities—not interpreted from the outside, whether that is Singapore, Bangkok, Hanoi or London. This holds true regardless of where the capital originates,” noted Nikki Kemp, Executive Director, the Singapore Green Finance Centre.
“Partnerships are essential in mobilizing climate adaptation finance. The challenges are clear: a high perception of risk, limited bankable projects, difficulty in quantifying adaptation benefits compared to mitigation, and the lack of long-term climate risk data to evaluate future projects. Collaboration, especially South-South cooperation, is the key way to overcome these barriers to build a shared, climate resilient future.” explained
Guo Hongyu, Deputy Director, Greenovation Hub.
To Download Presentation: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rBgVSmlOyXELvCux5-Xp_nZGWIO0_U1A
To learn more about Thailand’s climate finance landscape and CFNT’s Climate Finance Tracker, visit www.climatefinancethai.com/tracker
Media Enquiries:
Sutthipath Kanittakul (“Toon”)
Communications Officer, Climate Finance Network Thailand
sutthipath@climatefinancethai.com
About Climate Finance Network Thailand
Established in 2024, the Climate Finance Network Thailand (CFNT) is a Bangkok-based think tank committed to advancing sustainable financial practices and fostering a low-carbon economy transition—namely by consistently championing the integration of climate considerations into financial decision-making. With a team of dedicated professionals, CFNT collaborates with a diverse range of stakeholders, from investors to regulators, to ensure that Thailand’s financial sector is both resilient and responsive to the challenges and opportunities of climate change.
For more information, visit: www.climatefinancethai.com
