News Releases

Wind offers a reliable and carbon emission-free source of electricity and the Asian Development Bank is providing support to expand its use throughout remote communities in Asia, helping to alleviate poverty and improve lives.

Asian Development Bank Vice-President Ursula Schaefer-Preuss met yesterday with Philippines President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo on the sidelines of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change talks in Copenhagen to discuss a major new investment in the Philippines under the Clean Technology Fund.

ADB will invest $15 million to support clean energy projects in the Greater Mekong Subregion and South Asia through the Mekong Brahmaputra Clean Development Fund.

The countries of Asia and the Pacific have a strong stake in a successful outcome to the current climate change talks in Copenhagen, senior officials of the ADB said Sunday.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda marked the beginning of climate change talks in Copenhagen by noting how vital it is for the Asia and Pacific region and the rest of the world that the international community reach an ambitious and equitable agreement to confront "the most pressing environmental challenge of our time."

ADB is planning to channel around $700 million from two new investment funds to its developing member countries as part of a broad global initiative to help developing countries meet the cost of actions needed to combat climate change.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda joined heads of other multilateral development banks in calling for a comprehensive agreement to come out of climate change negotiations that begin in Copenhagen next week.

Years of underinvestment in electricity infrastructure has left Nepal with one of the most unreliable power supplies in South Asia, putting a brake on the country's economic growth.

Investments in energy efficiency solutions in Indonesia offer a potential $4 billion market for commercial banks and the industrial sector, a Jakarta conference co-organized by ADB heard today.

Low-lying Pacific island countries, which are among the most vulnerable in the world to climate change, are stepping up efforts to counter the threats posed by rising sea levels and extreme weather events.