ADB to Double Climate Resilience Fund in Asia-Pacific by 2020

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will double its financing for climate resilience projects in Asia-Pacific countries including Vietnam to $6 billion a year by 2020. As many as 66% of the total amount will be dedicated to mitigation through scaling up support for renewable energy, energy efficiency and sustainable transport, as well as for building smart cities. The rest will be for adaptation through more resilient infrastructure, climate-smart agriculture, and better preparation for climate-related disasters, the Japan-led bank said. Six of the 10 nations most vulnerable to climate change worldwide are in the Asia Pacific region and the funding would help the region to curb environmental shocks and disasters, ADB said. South Asia could lose 8.8% of its annual gross domestic product by 2100, while Southeast Asia could lose 6.7% of its GDP a year, if it fails to combat the effects of climate change, the bank said. “Nowhere is tackling climate change more critical than in Asia and the Pacific, where rising sea levels, melting glaciers, and weather extremes like floods and droughts are damaging livelihoods and taking far too many lives,” ADB President Takehiko Nakao said in a statement. Vietnam is one of five hardest-hit countries by climate change. The needs an estimated $30 billion to implement strategies on green growth until 2020. (Vov.vn Sept 28, Reuters.com Sept 28)