Richard Argall is an expert in ocean energy and marine renewables works on Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) projects for Makai Ocean Energy Division.

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, technological advances brought by the Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) had already disrupted the world of work, leading to the growing demand for new sets of skills and competencies. Consequently, old jobs were being lost, while new jobs were created including new pathways for commercial activities.

USG-UCCRTF organized a session on “Use of geospatial tools and analysis for remote monitoring of projects and building climate resilience” as part of Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction's events under the 2021 Resilience Learning Month.

Nature-based solutions (NbS) to improve climate resilience have been rediscovered and universally promoted and identified as essential moving forward on climate action, as in the UNFCCC’s 2020 annual report. ADB has been supporting NbS and green capital development in various countries.

How can technology and finance protect our oceans, increase resilience, and accelerate the growth of sustainable blue economies?

CWER’s intern Cynthia Wang presented findings of her internship project to identify potential approaches for scaling up private sector-driven adaptation and resilience investments and activities. This included a summary of existing frameworks for identifying and measuring private sector adaptation, barriers and drivers for private sector adaptation, and case studies of earlier development projects. She concluded with a discussion on prospective areas and modalities of ADB support.