The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has called for more funding for projects that will reduce the adverse impact of climate change in the Asia-Pacific region.Speaking at the fourth ministerial meeting on climate change in Chiba, Japan, vice-president Ursula Schaefer-Preuss said there should be more partnerships that can pool technical and financial resources to mitigate the negative effects of climate change and to enable those adversely affected to adapt to the challenges.
"Particularly on the adaptation side, there is a need to build up a pool of funds to reduce the financial burden of countries that may be called to accommodate large populations displaced by climate change," she said. "No single country should have to bear the burden of climate-driven refugees on its own." Schaefer-Preuss also called for enhanced investment mechanisms to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, such as ADB’s Carbon Market Initiative and its proposed Future Carbon Fund. She also stressed the need for additional market incentives other than greenhouse gas reductions, such as trading schemes for other noxious gas emissions.
The Asia and Pacific is particularly vulnerable to the growing threat of climate change. Some 1.2 billion people in the region could experience a shortage of freshwater by 2020, while crop yields in Central and South Asia could drop by half between now and 2050, she warned.
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