ISLAMABAD: The Asian Dev­elopment Bank (ADB) announced on Tuesday that it had approved a $500 million policy-based loan to support climate change and disaster risk reduction and resilience in Pakistan.

The Climate and Disaster Resi­lience Enhancement Programme (CDREP) will strengthen Pakis­tan’s institutional capacity for planning, preparedness and res­ponse; increase inclusive investment in disaster risk reduction and climate resilience; and support the scale up of disaster risk financing using a risk-layered approach, the Manila-based lending agency said in a statement.

Pakistan is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change and disasters triggered by natural hazards in Asia and the Pacific. Average losses from disaster events exceed $2 billion per year. Women and other vulnerable groups are disproportionately affected by climate change and disaster events.

“This programme builds on ADB’s longstanding work in Pak­istan to understand and reduce climate and disaster risks and su­­pport effective disaster respo­nse,” said ADB Director General for Central and West Asia Yevg­eniy Zhukov. “We are proud to support an integrated and comprehensive approach to climate and disaster risk management, including a portfolio of disaster risk financing instruments for timely and adequate funding for disaster response.”

The programme supports enhanced capacity for disaster risk mapping and modeling for investment and development decisions. It enhances coordination for disaster monitoring and response. It supports enhanced planning and prioritisation of gender-sensitive and resilient public investments, including integrated flood risk management and nature-based solutions.

The programme supports mob­i­lisation of climate finance from public and private sources. This includes issuance of a domestic green Sukuk (Islamic bond). A key innovation of the programme is the use of ADB’s Contingent Disaster Financing option for the first time in the Central and West Asia region. This will provide quick disbursing budget support in the event of a disaster.

The programme will support the establishment of a solidarity fund to facilitate the uptake of risk transfer solutions such as agriculture insurance. The programme also supports shock-responsive social protection to deliver cash assistance in the event of a disaster.

The ADB has also approved a technical assistance grant of $1m to support implementation of the programme.

Published in Dawn, October 30th, 2024