Page 13 - AsiaElec Week 22 2022

AsiaElec CLIMATE AsiaElec

ADB to lend $250mn to Philippines

to fund climate adaption

PHILIPPINES THE Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to The bank’s loan will be used to target policy
lend $250mn to the Philippines to drive forward reforms and will help the Philippines govern-
its climate change adaptation and mitigation ment build planning, financing and institutional
efforts. systems to scale up climate action.
The policy-based loan will support the coun- It will support reforms to enhance the resil-
try’s Climate Change Action Programme, which ience of farming and fishing communities to
will help the country deliver its Nationally Deter- the increasing impacts of climate change and
mined Contribution (NDC), which will set out to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions
the country’s plans to reduce its CO2 emissions through the deployment of renewable energy,
and to meet its Paris Agreement commitment. energy efficiency and sustainable transport.
The money will concentrate on transform- The programme was prepared jointly with
ing vulnerable sectors and on making them the Agence Française de Développement, which
climate-resilient, as well as developing a low-car- is providing co-financing of $172mn to the
bon economy. government.
“We have a climate emergency, and all coun- The ADB itself has aiming to deliver $100bn
tries must come together and address the causes in cumulative climate finance to its developing
and adapt in a way that ensures food security, member countries (DMCs) from 2019 to 2030.
protects our biodiversity and improves the In the Philippines, it is piloting its Energy
well-being of millions of vulnerable persons,” Transition Mechanism, which aims to accelerate
said ADB Vice-President for East Asia, South- the retirement of coal power plants and replace
east Asia and the Pacific Ahmed M. Saeed. them with clean power infrastructure. It is also
“The Philippines has adopted important supporting the ASEAN Catalytic Green Finance
climate actions and goals that will help address Facility.
these threats and challenges and guide a green ADB has joined other multilateral develop-
and resilient recovery after the COVID-19 ment banks in committing to a just transition
pandemic.” that supports DMCs to move toward net-zero
The bank said that the Philippines was placed emission economies.
fourth on the Global Climate Risk Index list of The current loan is described as a poli-
countries most affected by extreme weather cy-based loan, which transfers cash to a gov-
between 2000 and 2019. ernment’s general budget instead of paying for
The pandemic has heightened the country’s explicit project costs.
vulnerability to the economic impact of severe Loan funds are disbursed only when the bor-
weather events. rower completes policy reforms or actions that
Poorer households are disproportionately have been agreed with ADB.
affected, especially in urban areas with less This is ADB’s first policy-based loan that
secure infrastructure, and those situated along addresses climate change as its core objective.™
the country’s vast coastal areas most exposed to
extreme weather.

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