ADB Side Events at the UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP 25)

The UNFCCC Climate Change Conference included the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the UNFCCC, the 15th session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 15), and the second session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 2). Representatives from all UNFCCC parties were in attendance.

Best Judicial Practice from South Asia

Ritwick Dutta discussed the different kinds of environmental litigation and legal issues that have emerged in Asia. He also showed news clippings on the Bombay High Court's perspective on the Aarey Case and the Uttarakhand High Court's order to share Divya Pharmacy's profits with farmers and the local community before highlighting Justice Mansoor Ali Shah's point: that existing environmental jurisprudence needs to be fashioned to meet the needs of climate change. He then presented the National Green Tribunal's pro-environmental stance regarding the Mopa Airport Project.

ADB Transport Forum

This biennial flagship knowledge sharing event organized by the Transport Sector Group of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has become the premier platform for policy dialogue in Asia and the Pacific. It brings together key transport and urban development officials from ADB’s developing member countries, international experts, development partners, researchers, and representatives from civil society and the private sector. Various issues and challenges relating to transport in the region are discussed.

Asia-Pacific Judicial Conference on Climate Change Adjudication: Trends and Impacts

The Supreme Court of Fiji (SCF), in partnership with the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the United Nations Environment Programme, cohosted the Asia-Pacific Judicial Conference on Environmental and Climate Change Adjudication (Conference) on 7-8 October 2019, in Nadi, Fiji under the banner of the Asian Judges Network on Environment (AJNE), the unique judicial association working towards strengthening environmental and climate change adjudication.

ADB Transport Forum 2018

By ADB estimates, the Asian transport sector will require over $8.4 trillion in investments until 2030 in order to continue the region’s growth trajectory while responding to the challenges of climate change. Opportunities exist to close the infrastructure funding gap and direct the financing toward more sustainable, resilient transport infrastructure, and the forum provides an opportunity to discuss these opportunities and attendant challenges.​

Legal Readiness to Attract Climate Finance: Towards a Low-Carbon Asia and the Pacific

This article highlights some of the legal barriers faced by developing countries in optimizing their options for funding their nationally determined contributions and showcases examples from the Lao People's Democratic Republic and the Republic of Fiji, where the countries have embarked on legal modernization to attract more international climate finance.

Pacific Needs a Voice in International Arbitration

Ms. Christina Pak highlighted the critical role international arbitration can play in attracting international climate finance and investments into the South Pacific region which is acutely vulnerable to climate change impacts. The South Pacific countries face serious threat to their development from climate change and will need significant international climate finance to respond. Ms.