Page 9 - AsiaElec Week 45 2021

AsiaElec CLIMATE FINANCE AsiaElec

ADB, EBRD, EDB showcase climate-

friendly capital at COP26

THE UN’s COP26 climate conference in Glas- the International Fertilizer Association. This
ASIA gow has seen development banks from around indicates to producers what kind of investments
the world come together to outline their contri- they need to make now in order to reach net zero
butions to a low-carbon future. Robust financial in the future.
infrastructure is a critical pillar of a just and One particularly important region is Eura-
efficient transition to net zero, but the obstacles sia. The total area of the Eurasian Development
which development banks still face have also Bank’s (EDB) member states is about a sev-
been cast into sharp relief by the conference. enth of the world’s landmass, and is comprised
Development banks are pioneers at the mostly of developing countries. Russia alone is
best of times, tasked with assuring a country’s the third-largest producer of CO2 historically,
socio-economic prosperity well into the future. as reported by bne. Consequently, the total car-
Now, though, even more daring initiatives and bon sink capacity of the EDB’s member states is
ambitious targets are required as banks do their among the highest in the world. Through a com-
bit to tackle climate change, which has estab- bination of carbon sequestration potential and
lished itself not only as the greatest threat of the emissions reductions, the vast steppe stretching
era, but also as an opportunity to create a fairer across the two continents could be critical in
society and a better quality of life for everyone. combatting climate emissions.
At the beginning of the COP26 conference, 10 In a speech at the COP26 climate conference,
multilateral development banks (MDBs) issued Nikolai Podguzov, The chairman of the Man-
a joint statement pledging to scale up their activ- agement Board of EBD, said: “The international
ity in response to the climate crisis, particularly community pays a great deal of attention to our
in low and middle-income countries. region’s ability to reduce its carbon footprint. All
Green finance is being raised in ever greater the bank’s member states have acceded to the
quantities around the world, with MDBs mobi- Paris Agreement and adopted national action
lising $66bn for climate friendly investment in plans until 2030 to combat climate change. If
2020, according to the Joint Report on MDBs’ these national plans are implemented, the total
Climate Finance. All MDBs agreed to create emissions by the EAEU and Tajikistan in 2030,
frameworks to align their investment projects with carbon absorption and the projected signif-
with the Paris Agreement objectives in 2017, icant increase in GDP factored in, will be 45%
while in 2019, they provided 46% of all public below 1990 levels.”
climate finance. This year, the EDB’s Council approved a new
The COP26 conference saw another step up strategy prioritising environmental and resource
in the pledges made by development banks. The efficiency. By 2026, the bank plans to increase the
Asian Development Bank (ADB), for example share of green projects in its portfolio from the
used COP26 to launch a new carbon fund, the current 15% to 25%. Having already financed
Climate Action Catalyst Fund (CACF). This is renewable energy projects with a total installed
designed to help member countries meet their capacity of around 500 MW, it now aims to bring
nationally determined contribution targets the total amount of renewable energy funding
(NDCs), and aims to help make carbon credits up to $1bn. In Kazakhstan alone, the EDB is
a viable system across Asia by directing finance planning projects with a combined capacity of
towards their exchange. 300 MW in wind and solar power. These are
The ADB is the fourth-biggest in the world, expected to help reduce the carbon footprint of
and will play a significant role in the green tran- the country’s energy sector to the tune of 1.4mn
sition as it rallies support for a net-zero future in tonnes of CO2.
the hugely influential – and polluting – Asia-Pa- Transport corridors will be another cru-
cific region, where “the battle against climate cial area of Eurasian infrastructure in the fight
change will be won or lost”, in the words of ADB against climate change. The EDB is currently
President Masatsugu Asakawa. involved in the development of land transport
The European Bank for Reconstruction and routes using rail and road, designed to transport
Development (EBRD) has also used COP26 as a people and goods more efficiently in accordance
platform for more ambitious targets, promising with environmental standards, as well as bring-
to increase the proportion of total investments ing greater economic opportunity. They are
represented by green finance to more than 50% expected to cut transport-related CO2 emissions
by 2025. It also launched a low-carbon pathway on the China-EAEU-EU axis by around half.™
for the nitrogen fertilizer industry along with

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