ADB announces $49 million in climate financing

KARACHI: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Monday announced $49 million in funding to various climate change projects in Pakistan after the bank raised $108 million from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to increase climate financing in the region.

ADB secured $108 million in funding from the Songdo-based GCF for its climate change projects, shoring up the bank’s efforts to increase its climate financing for the Asia and Pacific region.

The new funding — comprising $71 million in grants and $37 million in concessional loans — was approved during the 21st meeting of the GCF board on 17-20 October in Manama, Bahrain, and will provide cofinancing support to three ADB-financed projects in Kiribati, Pakistan, and Tonga.

Woochong Um, director general of ADB’s Sustainable Development and Climate Change Department said ADB has a bold plan that 75 percent of its projects will address climate mitigation and adaptation by 2030.

“The funding from GCF will complement this effort and support the deployment of innovative technologies to address climate change challenges in Kiribati, Pakistan, and Tonga,” Um said in a statement.

In Pakistan, GCF funding of $12 million in grant and $37 million in loan will supplement $442 million in loans from ADB, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, and Agence Française de Développement to build a 30-kilometre fully segregated state-of-the-art third-generation bus rapid transit system including bicycle lanes, a bike sharing system, last-mile connectivity with e-pedicabs, and improved pedestrian facilities directly benefiting 1.5 million residents of Karachi.

The project includes the construction of a plant to produce biogas from cattle waste for use with zero greenhouse gas emission biomethane-hybrid buses.

The assistance for projects in the three countries is on top of the $265 million in grants and loans previously approved by GCF for six ADB projects in Asia and the Pacific.

In its recently endorsed corporate strategy for 2030, ADB has made an ambitious commitment to address the climate challenge in the Asia and Pacific region, with a target of cumulative climate financing of $80 billion from its own resources in the 2019–2030 period.

GCF is a global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.

It was established in 2010 by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and catalyse a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development.

Last week, GCF’s board approved 93 projects, valued together at $4.6 billion of GCF funding. ADB is one of 75 entities accredited to the GCF that can channel GCF resources to projects and programs in developing countries.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.

Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members—48 from the region. In 2017, ADB operations totaled $32.2 billion, including $11.9 billion in cofinancing.