Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao, recently announced that the bank will double its annual climate financing to $6Bn by 2020, up from the current $3 billion. ADB’s spending on tackling climate change will rise to around 30% of its overall financing by the end of this decade.
The announcement came after developed countries promised to mobilize $100Bn every year from 2020 to counter climate change in developing countries.
Nakao said: “Nowhere is tackling climate change more critical than in Asia and the Pacific, where rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and weather extremes like floods and droughts are damaging livelihoods and taking far too many lives.”
Six of the 10 nations most vulnerable to climate change in 2013 are in Asia-Pacific (Philippines, Cambodia, India, Pakistan, Lao PDR, Viet Nam). Burgeoning cities such as Kolkata, Mumbai, Dhaka, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Shanghai, Bangkok, Yangon, and Manila are among those most threatened by coastal flooding.
Between 2005 and 2014, disasters (including non-climate-related disasters) have affected 1.4 billion people and caused 424,819 deaths. They caused $722 billion in direct physical losses, 48% of the global total in that period and equivalent to $198 million per day.
Asia-Pacific is home to 552 million hungry people, two-thirds of the world’s total, and climate change further threatens food security.
Asia-Pacific’s share of worldwide energy-related carbon dioxide emissions more than doubled from
17% in 1990 to 37% in 2011 largely due to the swift growth of Asian cities. Without aggressive efforts to
make growth less carbon-intensive, the share will be 46% by 2035.
Developing Asia accounts for 33% of world energy demand and by 2035, this will increase to 41%.
$4 out of the $6 Bn for mitigation projects
Out of the $6Bn, $4Bn will be dedicated to mitigation through scaling up support for renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable transport, and building smart cities. $2 billion will be for adaptation through more resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and better preparation for climate-related disasters.
Since 2011, ADB has spent close to $13 billion on climate change. In 2014, 77% of ADB’s $3.2Bn in spending was on mitigation, notably on promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable transport. The rest was invested in helping the region to adapt such as by strengthening coastal protection against floods, making infrastructure climate-resilient, and enhancing disaster preparedness.
Searching for public-private co-financing
In addition to scaling up its own climate financing, ADB will continue to explore new and innovative cofinancing opportunities with public and private partners. For example, ADB will seek to mobilize concessional financing from the Green Climate Fund, which is becoming operational, for ADB’s adaptation projects in poorer countries.
ADB will tap institutional investment through private equity funds like the ADB-sponsored Asia Climate Partners. ADB will also issue more green bonds as an important source of funding for its climate operations.
Technology, key to succeed
ADB President stressed the importance of technology in tackling climate change, and said that ADB will adjust its procurement systems in order to facilitate the integration of cleaner and more advanced technology into its projects. ADB will also strengthen partnerships with centers of excellence across the world to provide its member countries with cutting-edge knowledge and expertise on climate change.
Image over the headline.- Angkor Wat, the front side of the main complex, photographed in the late afternoon. Photo by Bjørn Christian Tørrissen used under Creative Commons lisence.
