ADB to develop climate change mitigation and adaptation program for Azerbaijan

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is launching a technical assistance project for the countries of the Central and Western Asian region (CWRD). It will support the development of a climate change strategy and an action plan for CWRD to strengthen the integration of climate change in Asian Development Bank (ADB) financed interventions in the developing member countries (DMCs) of the region.

The TA financing amount is $3.0 million, which will be financed on a grant basis by ADB's Technical Assistance Special Fund, Report informs, referring to ADB. The project will be implemented for 3.5 years from July 2022 to December 2025.

"The TA will contribute to the preparation of robust climate mitigation and adaptation projects or programs which will be aligned with the Paris Agreement and be responsive to climate change priorities of CWRD DMCs. The TA will also strengthen the capacities of DMCs and ADB staff in CWRD," the bank's report says.

"Changes in river flows of key river basins like the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, are important to the economies of several countries in the region."

It says that the region hosts some of the most energy-intensive economies, nine such as Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.

According to the bank, the countries of the region, rich in energy resources, prefer fossil fuels: "For example, Azerbaijan with significant oil and natural gas resources and Kazakhstan with abundant coal resources, have demonstrated strong economic growth over the last decade. From 2000 to 2010, real GDP grew by 400% in Azerbaijan, and 220% in Kazakhstan. 11 Industry and services account for over 80% of GDP in these countries demonstrating reliance on energy."

ADB has committed to deliver $100 billion for climate finance from its own resources cumulatively from 2019 to 2030.