Action to address climate change took center stage at the Asian Development Bank Annual Meeting event Raising the Bar on Climate Ambition – Road to COP26, where opinion leaders and experts shared insights and cited key figures in the fight against climate change. As we approach COP26 in November 2021, which will bring parties together to accelerate action towards the goals of the Paris Agreement, what do these figures mean for Asia and the Pacific?
100 billion
"It is important for COP 26 to stress the important role of climate finance, especially in fulfilling the obligation of developed countries to realize the commitment of [$]100 billion per year by 2020. And set the new collective quantified goal post-2020 from the floor [of] $100 billion per year."
- Sri Mulyani Indrawati, Indonesia Minister of Finance
At COP21, it was decided that a new collective goal for climate action would be set from a floor of $100 billion per year before 2025, taking into account developing countries’ needs and priorities. Credit: UN Photo/Mark Garten under the Creative Commons license.
2030
“The global estimates for adaptation financing are expected to range from $140 billion to $300 billion per annum by 2030. It could rise to between $280 billion to $500 billion per annum by 2050. Fiji alone will require about $4.6 billion by 2030 to adequately ingrain adaptation and resilience into our development agenda. Achieving the global goal on adaptation set forth in [the] Paris Agreement is intrinsically linked to rapidly achieving significant global decarbonization. Simply because greater climate mitigation today reduces the need for climate adaptation tomorrow. Every country must ensure the NDCs have a 2030 commitment that is consistent with what the science requires of us. This means no backsliding, no shortfalls, and no deferrals.”
- Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, Attorney General of Fiji
A fisherman casts his net in Fiji waters. Fiji is looking at blue bonds to boost the island nation’s climate finance.
80
“Recent analysis predicts that global energy-related CO2 emissions will grow by close to 5% in 2021 as demand for coal, oil, and gas rebounds. More than 80% of the projected growth in coal demand will be from Asia. Without decarbonizing our energy systems, the goals of the Paris Agreement will be beyond reach.”
- Masatsugu Asakawa, Asian Development Bank President
A solar plant in Mongolia. ADB’s cumulative climate finance commitment stands to reach $80 billion by 2030.
75
“Most importantly, we will hold firm on our ambitious climate finance targets, that by 2030, 75% of the total number of ADB’s operations will support either adaptation or mitigation, climate action, while climate finance from ADB’s own resources will reach $80 billion cumulatively by 2030.”
- Masatsugu Asakawa, Asian Development Bank President
55
“At our [climate leaders’] summit, a lot of people came together … 55% of the world's global GDP came together saying, “we're going to target NDCs that will keep us at 1.5 degrees.” So 55% of the world has accepted to take the measures necessary now to get to 1.5 degrees. And the reason this is so urgent, is it's not a matter of trying to corner people or push people to do something that's unreasonable. It's a matter of trying to do what we know is necessary to get the job done.”
- John Kerry, US Special Presidential Envoy for Climate
Parched land as a result of a drought in Mongolia. The Paris Agreement aims to limit temperature rises to well below 2°, preferably to 1.5° degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
1.5
“We have less than a decade left to keep Paris’s 1.5 degrees target within reach. And that will require us to halve our emissions by 2030. So COP 26 has to be the moment we get the world on track to make the goals of the Paris agreement a reality and to keep that 1.5 alive. And to do that, we have four goals for the UK COP Presidency. First, to put the world on a path to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century with ambitious national 2030 emissions reduction targets along the way. Second, to boost adaptation. Third, to get finance flowing to climate action and fourth, for us to work together relentlessly enhancing international collaboration on critical issues like clean energy and nature.”
- Alok Sharma, COP 26 President Designate
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is a key measure in climate change mitigation under the Paris Agreement.
0
“Arresting climate change requires achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions at a global scale by mid-century … And it is an urgent task. Acting later can be extremely costly and may turn out to be ineffective. But shifting economic development towards a sustainable path is a difficult process, and all human activities have to facilitate it. A successful transition requires therefore strong global cooperation.”
- Ignazio Visco, Governor of the Bank of Italy
Sources:
Video: 54th ADB Annual Meeting: Raising the Bar on Climate Ambition - Road to COP 26
News Release: ADB to Enhance Adaptation and Resilience in Response to Climate Change Threat
Speech: Raising the Bar on Climate Ambition: Road to COP26 - Masatsugu Asakawa
