Statement by ADB President Takehiko Nakao Following the Conclusion of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change COP21 Meeting in Paris

I welcome the climate agreement signed in Paris. The commitments by over 180 countries are the clearest articulation yet of the truly global effort that is needed to control greenhouse gas emissions and help humankind and the planet adapt to climate change.The agreement to restrict warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to pursue efforts to reach 1.5 degrees is especially relevant to Asia and the Pacific – home to 4 billion people – which is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change.

The focus must now shift toward implementation. In addition to commitments from all countries to control greenhouse gas emissions, the world’s most vulnerable countries will need to focus on adaptation. The financing decision agreed in Paris will go a long way to help develop low-carbon economies and build resilience and adaptive capacity for developing countries. This includes a provision to extend and scale up climate finance beyond 2025, starting with a funding floor of $100 billion annually between 2020 and 2025.The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will work toward this goal by doubling its annual climate finance from the current $3 billion to $6 billion by 2020. Of that, $4 billion will be toward climate change mitigation and $2 billion for adaptation.

In addition to financing commitments, ADB together with other international financial institutions has committed to collectively work toward harmonizing accounting methodologies for tracking climate finance and greenhouse gas emissions. ADB will support developing member countries in Asia and the Pacific to implement Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) through its Climate Change Strategic Framework.