ISLAMABAD: The Asian Development Bank committed a record amount of more than $10.4 billion for climate finance in 2023 to help developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific region cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of a warming planet.

The bank committed $9.8bn in climate finance from its own resources last year, the ADB says in a report.

Adaptation financing is critical in Asia and the Pacific which is experiencing extreme heat, droughts and heavy rains, but where investments in adaptation remains a fraction of what is required.

Asia and the Pacific are responsible for more than half of global carbon dioxide emissions and they are also acutely vulnerable to climate change impacts. The region needs an invest of $3.1 trillion per year in energy and transport assets alone to meet net zero emissions by 2050, around 50pc more than current levels.

As Asia and the Pacific’s climate bank, the ADB aims to provide $100bn in climate financing from its own resources from 2019 to 2030.

In 2022, the ADB committed $6.7bn for climate financing from its own resources, including $4bn for mitigation and $2.7bn for adaptation.

The bank is also working on its ambition to deliver $100bn in climate finance to its developing member countries by 2030. It will also help member countries to lay the groundwork for low-carbon and climate-resilient policies, strategies and investments that will help them achieve their nationally determined contributions, long-term strategies, and national adaptation plans.

The ADB has now released its Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) 2023-2030, under which the bank will multiply climate impact by catalysing large sums of public and private climate finance.

The bank’s sovereign and private sector operations will be aligned with the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement.

The CCAP is also fully aligned with the ADB’s new operating model and its four shifts that will enable the bank to increase its capacity as the region’s climate bank; strengthen its work to develop the private sector and mobilise private investments in the region; provide a larger range of high-quality development solutions for its developing member countries; and modernise ways of working to make it more responsive, agile and closer to clients.

The bank will also increase investment in climate finance and expand efforts to catalyse other public and private investment by working with partners, piloting new finance initiatives for climate action, and supporting member countries to access concessional finance as well as reform their legal and regulatory frameworks to encourage private investments.

The bank will also integrate climate-smart planning and technology across sectors and thematic groups besides advancing inclusive and climate-resilient socioeconomic development and climate-responsive infrastructure.

Intervention areas will also include biodiversity, agrifood systems, nature-based climate solutions as well as catalysing green and blue finance.

Published in Dawn, February 2nd, 2024