Asian lender ADB to raise share of climate loans to 55% by 2030 - Nikkei Asia
Asian lender ADB to raise share of climate loans to 55% by 2030 - Nikkei Asia
TOKYO -- The Asian Development Bank intends to allocate 55% of its financing toward addressing climate change by the end of the decade, up from less than 40% now, Nikkei has learned.
"There's an overwhelming lack of funding to address climate change, food security and other global challenges," Tomoyuki Kimura, director-general for the ADB's strategy, policy and partnerships department, told Nikkei.
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”