ADB commits to full alignment with Paris Agreement

On 8 July, President Masa has announced ADB’s alignment with the Paris Agreement. ADB aims to align 100% of its sovereign operations and 85% of its nonsovereign operations by 1 July 2023. ADB’s nonsovereign operations will also have achieved 100% alignment two years later by 1 July 2025.President Masa also announced plans to increase investments in adaptation and resilience in its projects that will bring cumulative financing to $9 billion in 2019 to 2024. The Paris Agreement aims to keep the rise in global temperatures to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.The announcement marks ADB’s recognition that the implementation of the Paris Agreement is “critical in the global fight against climate change.” Committing to full Paris alignment and scaling up investments in resilience and adaptation, ADB will be helping the region reduce its carbon footprint and support development member countries’ bid in transitioning their economies “toward a more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive future.”President Masa made the announcement at the first V20 Climate Vulnerables Finance Summit, hosted by the Government of Bangladesh. The V20 comprises 48 countries, most of which have relatively small gross domestic products and are uniquely vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Nineteen of the V20 member countries are ADB DMCs: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Palau, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Samoa, Sri Lanka, Timor-Leste, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Viet Nam.