ADB and GCF launch Pacific climate resilience program to mobilize more than $1 billion

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ADB, GCF Pacific climate program

Highlights

Asian Development Bank and Green Climate Fund launched the $1 billion Regional Programmatic Approach for Climate Action with an initial $250 million GCF grant.
The RPACA will fund climate-resilient infrastructure in 14 Pacific island economies, leveraging ADB grants, concessional loans, and additional cofinancing.
The program targets protection for 3.7 million Pacific Islanders, increasing GCF's Pacific commitment to $1.2 billion plus $2 billion in cofinancing.

Funding structure and regional rollout

As announced by the Asian Development Bank, the Regional Programmatic Approach for Climate Action, or RPACA, is launched after the Green Climate Fund approves $250 million for the program. The initiative brings together ADB, GCF, the governments of the Cook Islands and Palau, and regional partners to strengthen roads, water supplies, power systems, coastal defenses, and urban infrastructure against extreme weather and rising seas.

ADB says the GCF grant will be combined with ADB grants, concessional loans, and other financing to support projects across 14 Pacific island economies. The program is also designed to help governments attract public and private investment, improve financial management, and plan long-term protection measures for vulnerable communities.

The Cook Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Naoero, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, and Vanuatu are eligible for support. The initiative is structured to coordinate investment across the region while allowing each participating government to set priorities based on local needs.

Climate risks and wider Pacific impact

ADB President Masato Kanda says rising seas and increasingly destructive storms are threatening homes, livelihoods, and the infrastructure Pacific communities rely on, describing the challenge for island states as a matter of survival. Palau President Surangel Whips Jr. says the program is intended as a Pacific-led long-term partnership whose success will depend on how effectively commitments are implemented and translated into outcomes for local communities.

GCF Executive Director Mafalda Duarte says many islands sit only a few meters above sea level and can be cut off by a single storm that damages a road, port, or water supply. She says RPACA is expected to help 14 countries build more resilient roads, ports, water and energy systems, schools, and clinics, reaching 3.7 million Pacific Islanders, while raising GCF's total commitment across the Pacific to $1.2 billion with a further $2 billion in cofinancing.

ADB adds that the program forms part of a broader regional effort being developed with the Pacific Community and the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme. Those complementary programs are being prepared to strengthen infrastructure, improve food and water security, protect public health and natural ecosystems, reduce pollution, and expand knowledge sharing across the region.

Previously, we examined Malaysia's need for stronger fiscal buffers to withstand geopolitical, pandemic, and climate shocks amid Budget 2027 pressures.

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