[COP31 | RCF Pavilion | In-Person] The Implementation Gap: Climate Finance, Access, and Asia’s Energy Transition

Across Asia and the Global South, renewable energy has scaled faster than climate finance frameworks can support. The challenge is now twofold: accessing finance — why capital is not reaching climate-vulnerable nations despite record global investment — and channeling it towards the next phase of implementation: storage, flexibility, grid integration, and distributed energy systems. This 75-minute panel brings together middle powers from Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Turkey, and Australia to examine both dimensions.

Drawing on research, policy, and on-the-ground finance experience, panelists will explore what structural changes in MDB criteria, risk allocation, and market design would unlock access; and what new financial rails — blended finance, scalable lending platforms, and regional cooperation — are needed to channel capital from generation to systems. A structured open dialogue will close the session.

• Speakers

Speakers:

• M. Zakir Hossain Khan,Co-Founder & Chief Executive, Change Initiative
• Nadira Utari, Climate Program and Research Officer
• Muhammad Basit Ghauri, Renewables First, Manager Special Initiatives & China Program
• Sara Jane Ahmed, MD V20 (To be confirmed)
• Fabby Tumiwa, CEO, IESR (To be confirmed)
• John Grimmer, CEO, RECAP (To be confirmed)

• Organizers

Renewables First, Change Initiative, Foreign Policy Community of Indonesia (FPCI) and Istanbul Policy Center (IPC)