LAHORE: The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has secured $108 million in funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for its climate change projects, which will support the bank’s efforts to increase its climate financing for the Asia-Pacific region.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $37 million loan and a grant of $12 million from the GCF which will supplement $442 in loans previously approved by the Manila-based lender.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), and Agence Française de Développement will build a 30-kilometre fully segregated state-of-the-art “third generation” bus rapid transit system including bicycle lanes, a bike sharing system, last-mile connectivity with e-pedicabs, and improved pedestrian facilities directly benefiting 1.5 million residents of Karachi.
Also, the project includes the construction of a plant to produce biogas from cattle waste for use with zero greenhouse gas emission biomethane-hybrid buses.
To be at the forefront of climate change, the ADB has made an ambitious commitment to address the climate challenge in the Asia and Pacific region, with a target of cumulative climate financing of $80 billion from its own resources during the 2019–2030 period.
GCF, based in Songdo, is a global fund created to support the efforts of developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.
It was established in 2010 by 194 governments to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and catalyze a flow of climate finance to invest in low-emission and climate-resilient development.
GCF has approved 93 projects, valued together at $4.6 billion of GCF funding. ADB is one of 75 entities accredited to the GCF that can channel GCF resources to projects and programs in developing countries.