In the Hot Seat: Financing Asia's Heat Resilience

By 2050, nearly 1.2 billion people in Asia are projected to be exposed to lethal heat waves. Without action, heat-related productivity losses alone could reduce regional GDP by 25–30 percent by 2048, threatening competitiveness, food security, and public health. Yet extreme heat remains one of the least funded and least understood climate risks. Adaptation finance is fragmented, heat risks are poorly priced, and private capital remains largely untapped.

Drawing on insights from policymakers, development finance institutions, insurers, asset managers, and climate experts, this report examines how Asia can unlock private capital at scale to finance heat resilience. It also identifies why markets have struggled to engage, pointing to inconsistent data and definitions, weak project pipelines, and a lack of scalable financial structures. At the same time, the report highlights areas where progress is already underway, from parametric heat insurance and blended finance to resilience bonds and cooling as a service.