By THEPHILBIZNEWS STAFF
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) joined on Sunday mounting calls for governments around the world to take urgent action to address climate change and its adverse impacts on nations of the Earth, while committing to a five-point action for financial support by the Multilateral Development Banks (MDB).
In a statement, ADB said it has joined MDB in supporting ambitious climate action for more than a decade and that each institution now commits to increasing financing as part of Action 1 of aiding the pursuit of such projects.
Under Action 1 of the Joint MDB Statement, each institution has individually committed to support increased climate finance levels over time and stated its plan as follows:
“Given the growth in climate finance support each of us has achieved to date, we expect our individual efforts to collectively total at least USD$65 billion annually by 2025, with $50 billion for low and middle income economies, 50 percent above current levels;” and
“Double the total level of adaptation finance provided to clients to USD$18 billion annually by 2025, compared to current levels. This responds to the urgent need to scale-up support for climate resilience in client projects and for enhanced systemic resilience.”
The ADB underscored that the MDB’s aggressive stance to support clients’ efforts to pursue climate action is imperative for nations, especially the poorest and most vulnerable, in order to adapt and mitigate climate change risks.
Citing Action 2 of the MDB, it stated that “based on current trends, we expect our collective efforts to also result in a further $40 billion of climate investments mobilized annually by 2025 from private sector investors, including through the increased provision of technical assistance, use of guarantees, and other de-risking instruments.
Action 3 is a commitment of MDB to help their clients deliver on the goals of the Paris Agreement. “At COP25 we will present key elements of our common framework, which defines clear principles each institution will incorporate, starting from 2021, in ways reflective of their unique client base and operations.”
Principles for intermediated financing activities are still under development and will be presented by the time of COP26.
Action 4 pertains to developing a new transparency framework to report on both the impact of each MDB’s activities and how these are helping clients meet and exceed commitments they have made, to be presented at COP25.
“This framework will be informed by consultations with multiple stakeholders, with the objective of broadening its use across the financial sector, beyond MDBs,” the statement said.
Action 5 is a more challenging endeavor as each institution, like the ADB, will take actions to help clients move away from the use of fossil fuels.
MDB hopes to achieve these by fulfilling the following:
• Sharing at COP25 principles that can help our public and private sector clients design and implement long-term low GHG emissions and climate resilient strategies that grow in ambition over time. This approach should help governments assess their individual progress on their climate commitments and help bridge the gap between the countries’ current efforts and the long-term goals of signatories to the Paris Agreement.
• Continue working with national development banks and other financial institutions, to develop, by COP26, financing and policy strategies supporting a just transition that promotes economic diversification and inclusion.
“In all of our actions, we will focus on building and strengthening partnerships that enhance support for clients. Specifically, we will accelerate dissemination of international best practices on climate risk disclosure across the financial sector. We will continue to work with commercial bank partners and DFIs, in particular with the members of the IDFC, and through the Climate Action in Financial Institutions Initiative and regional initiatives. Our work with national governments, the private sector, the donor community, civil society organizations, and global climate funds, such as the GCF, GEF and CIF, will remain key for countries to achieve ambitious transformation in line with their Paris Agreement commitments,” the statement said.