UNFCCC Climate Change Conference (COP 27)

8 Nov, 10:00 - 11:30 a.m.
Water Pavilion

The session will discuss how financing needs and innovative approaches identified at the local level and aligned with broader water security and resilience goals are required to tackle above challenges. The session will include the launch of the new Asia Pacific Water Resilience Initiative, as well as the proposed Water Resilience Trust Fund.

Part 1: Climate Adaptation for Resilient Coastal Development and Blue Economy
Objectives: This session will discuss issues and challenges faced in implementing coastal climate adaptation and the importance of pursuing programmatic and system-wide approaches for building longer-term coastal resilience and the blue economy. The discussions will guide ADB in scaling up its support for coastal adaptation to meet its dual commitments for climate action and healthy oceans.

Part 2: An Ocean of Opportunities: Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Lead Ocean-Climate Action
Objectives: The session will emphasize the central role of oceans in global climate mitigation and adaptation and discuss how Pacific SIDS are leading ocean-climate action. It will also highlight the importance of collective action on financing and scaling up the blue economy; and explore innovative ocean finance solutions and how the development of the Blue Pacific Finance Hub can support the priorities of Pacific SIDS.

The event aims to present a joint report released by ADB and the Islamic Development Bank on unlocking Islamic finance for climate action and discuss upcoming challenges and opportunities in unlocking and scaling up Islamic finance for climate action.

The session will discuss the challenges and opportunities for bridging the gap between adaptation planning and financing. In particular, it will identify the enabling environment needed to ensure adaptation plans are able to secure long-term financing for implementation. The discussions will help identify the support that the Asian Development Bank can provide countries in bridging this gap and thereby increase its commitments for climate adaptation finance.

10 Nov, 9:00 - 10:40 a.m.
PRC Pavilion

ADB provided a small grant financing ($100K from the Climate Change Fund) to assist the People's Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Ecology and Environment (MEE) prepare their new National Climate Change Adaptation Strategy 2035 that has just been released. ADB funded technical specialists and convened workshops with international partners and MEE during preparation of the strategy. This session will highlight ADB strategic upstream engagement with a key client to promote improved downstream climate resilience outcomes and guide ADB lending and non-lending assistance with regard to climate resilience. It will also allow ADB to elaborate and how it would work with the PRC to implement the strategy.

This side event will discuss the roles of DFIs in supporting the scaling up of private sector engagement in adaptation. It aims to highlight key resources, instruments, and emerging opportunities, including key levers that could be applied through upstream policy engagement and analytical efforts, as well as downstream practices related to investment structuring and finance instrument deployment.

Recognising the need for upstream technical and policy support, ADB is launching its Just Transition Support Platform, a multi-sector technical assistance platform, to build capacity of its member countries to strategically plan, implement, and finance a just transition. In this event, ADB will present its platform, and invite representatives from the government, academe, donor countries, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) to share their experiences and perspectives on the critical challenges and opportunities for a just transition in Asia and the Pacific, including how to catalyse support.

Co-organized by ADB, Japan Water Forum and the Asian Disaster Preparedness Center, the session will discuss actions needed to move beyond business as-usual approaches for scaling up effective investments in climate adaptation and resilience. Risk informed inclusive decision making at all levels and across sectors and themes will be key for enabling such shift.

14 Nov, 2:00 - 3:30 p.m.
Pakistan Pavilion

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement lays the foundation for international carbon markets which can be a key element of the broader climate policy toolbox that countries can deploy to accelerate climate action. In its updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), Pakistan is considering employing instruments for enhanced climate ambition provided under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. Accordingly, Pakistan has commenced various activities to enhance its readiness to participate in and benefit from international carbon markets under Article 6. International carbon markets will not only help Pakistan achieve its NDC targets but also mobilize much needed carbon finance and catalyze investments in low carbon technologies and processes, hence making it a cost-effective carbon reduction policy. This side event on Article 6 is being jointly organized by ADB and the Government of Pakistan to explore key areas for operationalizing Article 6 of the Paris Agreement in Pakistan as well as discuss the way forward.

14 Nov, 5:00 - 5:55 p.m.
Moana Pacific Pavilion

The Coalition of Atoll Nations on Climate Change (CANCC), comprised of the Governments of the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of the Maldives, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, Tokelau, and Tuvalu, was formed in 2014 to amplify the unique concerns of atoll nations on the global stage, with a focus on adaptation. The Coalition catalyzes the sharing of knowledge on the acute and particular vulnerabilities of atolls and adaptation solutions to allow communities to continue to thrive in their territories. This side event will bring together high-level representatives, technical experts, practitioners and those with an interest in atoll survival to share knowledge and experience on interventions which are being planned and deployed, in the era in which there are increasing climate risks, impacts, and loss and damage.

The Community Resilience Partnership Program aims to scale up investments in climate adaptation that address the nexus of climate, poverty and gender. The Program has established a gender window, the aim of which is to go beyond mainstreaming gender considerations in adaptation projects and to promote women-centered adaptation investments. Such investments recognize women’s role as “agents of change” in driving resilience. The session will engage a range of stakeholders including grassroot women’s leaders, policy makers, financial institutions, philanthropy and research organizations, in a dialogue to identify approaches and measures that the gender widow of the CRPP can adopt to overcome barriers and scale up women-centered adaptation investments.

ADB is developing a new methodology and a tool that aims to facilitate the quantitative assessment and reporting of the Sustainable Development (SD) impacts of climate action and their interlinkages with SDGs. This methodology will be operationalized through an Excel-based tool to ensure convenience, correctness, and consistency in the implementation of the methodology. The tool has been developed to benefit a broad range of stakeholders in conducting SD impact assessments of climate action, including both climate mitigation and adaptation. It has been designed to assess a broad spectrum of climate action in various sectors including Energy, Industry, Transport, Water and Waste, and Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use (AFOLU). At this event, ADB will launch the new tool to assess the SD impacts of climate action and their linkages to SDGs, and convene a discussion from various stakeholders on the imperative need to integrate an SD impact assessment framework for investments in climate action, especially those developed under the framework of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

In 2019, the multilateral development banks (MDBs) collectively committed to support countries in transforming their economies towards low carbon and climate resilient development. Acknowledging that the unprecedented speed and scale of these transformations pose challenges but also opportunities to different social groups, sectors, regions, and economies, the MDBs also committed to supporting a just transition that promotes economic diversification and inclusion. Building on these initial commitments, in October 2021, the MDBs developed a set of MDB Just Transition High-Level Principles to ensure that their support to deliver a just transition is consistent, credible, and transparent. With the foundations firmly established, this event will feature how MDBs are translating these high-level principles into concrete support that is consistent with their priorities and mandates, as well as the needs of their member countries and clients. It will discuss key issues and showcase experiences and lessons in operationalizing and driving the just transition agenda forward in diverse contexts.

15 Nov, 2:30 - 3:30 p.m.
GCA Pavilion

This event will explore how countries are assessing and managing climate related fiscal risks to mobilize and align public and private financial flows for investment in climate adaptation. It will (i) share global best practice on climate-responsive fiscal planning; and (ii) exchange country experiences on climate responsive fiscal planning.

16 Nov, 2:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Republic of Korea Pavilion

In this side event, high-level representatives and technical experts from the Republic of Korea, the International Energy Agency, the International Carbon Action Partnership, and ADB will convene a discussion with carbon pricing and Article 6 experts on the current state and trends of clean energy transitions, and what role domestic carbon markets and Article 6 could play to accelerate the transitions.

17 Nov, 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
SDG7 Pavilion

This event aims to: (i) update the global community on the progress of the ETM initiative overall and in the pilot countries; (ii) showcase messages of support to the ETM from development partners; (iii) provide a platform for collegial discussion on the technical, financial, social and environmental aspects of energy transition envisioned under the ETM; and (iv) highlight upcoming ETM activities in Central and West Asia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

17 Nov, 1:00 - 2:30 p.m.
Thailand Pavilion

Article 6 of the Paris Agreement lays the foundation for international carbon markets, which can be a key element of the broader climate policy toolbox that DMCs can deploy to accelerate climate action. The guidance for Article 6.2 and the rules, modalities, and procedures for Article 6.4 were finalized at COP26 in Glasgow. Under the Article 6.2 guidance, countries have agreed upon a rigorous framework for the international transfer of mitigation outcomes under the Paris Agreement and how these can be used towards their nationally determined contributions (NDCs), setting the foundation for the path to net-zero. A year on from COP26, this ADB side event will convene a discussion on the way forward regarding operationalizing Article 6 in Asia and the Pacific. Learning from the experiences of the Asian Development Bank, Governments of Germany and Indonesia, the Swedish Energy Agency and the Global Green Growth Institute, this side event will seek to highlight the work undertaken in operationalizing Article 6 and what needs to be done moving forward, particularly post the adoption of Article 6 Rules.