ADB: Climate finance a priority in recovery

MANILA, Philippines — Economies in Asia Pacific, including the Philippines, should prioritize accessing climate finance as they rebound from the pandemic and move toward the new normal.

Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) said access to climate finance is a key priority for Asia Pacific nations as governments design and implement a green and resilient recovery from the pandemic.

ADB said the pandemic presents an opportunity to rebuild economies with more resilient and sustainable infrastructure.

ADB president Masatsugu Asakawa said expanding access to finance is critical if developing economies in Asia Pacific are to meet their Paris Agreement goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and help adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.

“We can no longer take a business-as-usual approach to climate change. We need to put ambitious climate actions at the center of development,” Asakawa said.

“ADB is committed to supporting its developing member countries through finance, knowledge, and collaboration with other development partners, as they scale up climate actions and push for an ambitious outcome,” he said.

ADB maintained that the increasing severity of climate impacts is undermining the development gains Asia Pacific has achieved in recent decades.

The region’s economic growth has also come at a high cost of increased greenhouse gas emissions.

In response, the multilateral lender is using a three-pronged strategy to expand access to finance for its developing members as they step up their response to the impacts of climate change.

First, ADB is targeting that 75 percent of its committed operations support climate change mitigation and adaptation by the end of the decade, with climate finance from its resources to reach $80 billion until 2030.

Under its Asian Development Fund, it provides grant financing to its poorest members by supporting climate mitigation and adaptation in 35 percent of its operations by volume and 65 percent of its total number of projects by 2024.

Further, ADB is enhancing support for adaptation and resilience beyond climate proofing physical infrastructure to promote strong integration of ecological, social, institutional, and financial aspects of resilience into ADB’s investments.

It is also increasing support among the poorest and most vulnerable communities by working with other agencies for a community resilience program to scale up the quantity and quality of climate adaptation finance in support of local climate adaptation actions.