ERIA Shares Initial Findings of AITF Catalyst at GGX Finance Summit 2026
Tokyo, 26 October 2026: Mr Sho Hayashi, Senior Policy Fellow on Energy Transition and Finance at ERIA, presented initial findings of the AZEC Inclusive Transition Finance (AITF) Catalyst study at GGX Finance Summit 2026.
Mr Hayashi joined Panel Discussion 2, titled ‘Scaling Up Transition Finance: Mobilising Capital for Real-World Decarbonisation’, alongside speakers from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, Business Future Pathways Canada, and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, with Ms Reiko Hayashi of the International Capital Market Association as the moderator.
The AITF Catalyst report was launched by ERIA, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) at the AZEC Ministerial Meeting in Manila earlier this month.
Mr Hayashi noted that transition finance frameworks and taxonomies have advanced considerably across Asia but have not yet translated into project origination. He stressed that eligibility, feasibility, and bankability must all be in place for projects to attract capital, and that debates on eligibility often run ahead of the other two considerations. He also outlined two complementary narratives on transition finance – one centred on decarbonisation and the other on energy security and resilience – which he said reinforce rather than compete with each other.
Drawing on seven cases across energy, power, infrastructure, and industry, Mr Hayashi explained that as an initiative, the AITF Catalyst works at the level of individual projects. ERIA serves as its secretariat, while the ASEAN Centre for Energy, ADB, Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the ASEAN Taxonomy Board act as knowledge partners. He noted that most cases sit in the ‘low feasibility, low bankability’ quadrant, with barriers ranging from the absence of certification schemes and carbon pricing to existing blended-finance vehicles that do not adequately meet project needs.
He put forward three recommendations: link resilience with decarbonisation; solve challenges at the level of value chains and markets rather than single projects; and connect policy, market incentives, technical evidence, and finance. Mr Hayashi announced that the AITF Catalyst initiative will continue into 2027 to support new transition projects, with the call for projects remaining open until December 2026.
