ADB forges links with organizations and governments to identify, develop and implement programs and projects needed to help address national and regional environmental issues. Through environmental initiatives, regional cooperation programs, and partnerships, ADB continues to promote environmentally sustainable growth in Asia and the Pacific.

Initiatives

Climate Change Program

ADB provides support to DMCs by mainstreaming climate change into its operations, mobilizing finance, and building capacity and knowledge. ADB established its own Climate Change Fund and works with partners such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Climate Investment Fund (CIF) to help its DMCs access grant resources for adaptation and mitigation programs and investments. More

Clean Energy Program

ADB's Clean Energy Program targets an annual investment for clean energy projects of $2 billion by 2013.  The program seeks to increase regional energy efficiency in energy, transport and urban sectors; to adopt renewable energy sources; and to improve access to energy for the poor and remote. More

Sustainable Transport Initiative (STI)

ADB approved in 2010 the Sustainable Transport Initiative-Operational Plan (STI-OP), that guides ADB investments in low-carbon, safe, accessible, and affordable transport systems and develop inclusive, clean, and energy-efficient transport policies and projects.

Cities Development Initiative for Asia

The initiative assists Asian cities to identify the development of urban investment projects that emphasize one or more of the following impact areas: urban environment improvement, urban poverty reduction, and climate change mitigation or adaptation. More

Clean Air Initiative for Asian Cities (CAI-Asia)

Started in 2001 by ADB, the US-Asia Environmental Partnership, and the World Bank as a flagship initiative for improved air quality, CAI-Asia has become the leading convener on air quality management (AQM) through the Better Air Quality (BAQ) Workshops, the largest regional gathering of AQM stakeholders in Asia. More

Mainstreaming Environment for Poverty Reduction (MEPR)

MEPR is an accelerated learning program to understand the links between poverty reduction and the promotion of environmental sustainability. It implements subprojects that focus on three key areas: sustainable livelihoods, pollution and health, and environmental vulnerability.

Asian Environment Outlook

The Asian Environment Outlook (AEO) series reviews key environmental issues and trends facing Asia and the Pacific, and identifies investments, institutional and policy measures to advance the green growth agenda. It supports decision makers and stakeholders working in the region. More

Regional and Subregional Programs

Greater Mekong Subregion - Core Environment Program

The Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) Core Environment Program (CEP) and its flagship Biodiversity Conservation Corridor Initiative (BCI)  focus on integrating environmental considerations into key GMS development sectors, such as tourism, transport, and energy, and promoting local livelihood and conservation activities with high-value biodiversity landscapes. More

Coral Triangle Initiative

The Coral Triangle, which is the center of the world's coral reef biological diversity, covers areas of Indonesia, Malaysia, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Solomon Islands, and Timor-Leste. The Coral Triangle Initiative launched by the six countries in 2007, aims to preserve and manage the region's marine resources. International partners include ADB, which is coordinating the mobilization of financial support for the plan of action. ADB has been playing a key role in helping to promote the Initiative and serving as the lead agency to mobilize financial resources for the area.  More

Heart of Borneo Initiative

The Heart of Borneo (HoB), which straddles Indonesia and Malaysia (and parts of Brunei), contains the largest contiguous forest area remaining in Southeast Asia and is one of the most biologically diverse habitats on Earth. ADB in partnership with WWF and GEF, is supporting the Heart of Borneo Initiative which addresses the threats to this area, namely forest conversion into rubber and palm oil plantations, logging for timber and pulp production, forest fires, oil and mining industries, and illegal wildlife trade. These contribute to the considerable loss in forest biodiversity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which result from deforestation and forest degradation.

PRC-GEF Partnership on Land Degradation for Dryland Ecosystems

Initiated in 2002, the partnership between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) aims to facilitate the long-term cooperation between national and international organizations to introduce and support integrated ecosystem management (IEM) approaches in combating land degradation, reducing poverty, and restoring dryland ecosystems in the western region of PRC.

Partnerships

ADB and the Global Environment Facility

The partnership between ADB and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) is anchored on the recognition that the drive for global sustainability should be rooted in strong links between environment and development—a clean environment is essential for both sustainable development and poverty reduction. More

Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network (AECEN)

The network, established in 2005 with support from ADB, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and other development partners, aims to improve compliance with environmental laws in Asia through a regional exchange of innovative policies and practices. More

ADB and UNEP

ADB and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) cooperate for the promotion of sustainable development and environmental management throughout the Asia Pacific Region. Memorandum of Understanding

ADB and IUCN

ADB and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) collaborate in the fields of environmental law, poverty and environment linkages, biodiversity, environmental impact assessment, project monitoring, and coastal resources management. The partnership aims to support poverty reduction at the regional and subregional levels in Asia and the Pacific, and other development goals, including the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals at the regional and subregional levels. Memorandum of Understanding

ADB and WWF

The partnership builds on ADB and the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) shared vision of poverty reduction and environmentally sustainable development, with activities focusing on joint projects and programs, information sharing and knowledge management, capacity building, and the development of sustainable development policies and strategies.ADB and WWF are collaborating on a number of high profile environment initiatives such as the Coral Triangle Initiative, the Greater Mekong Subregion - Core Environment Program and the Heart of Borneo Initiative. Memorandum of Understanding

ADB and UNESCAP

Since 1990, ADB has been a close partner of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) in organizing Asia-Pacific ministerial conferences on environment and development, and in preparing the State of the Environment in Asia and the Pacific report and more recently the Asian Environment Outlook series of reports.

ADB and IGES

ADB and the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES) cooperate to support environmentally sustainable growth throughout Asia and the Pacific. The cooperation includes capacity building on Clean Development Mechanism, Asia Pacific Adaptation Network, Regional Study on Economics of Climate Change, Asian Environmental Compliance and Enforcement Network, and 3Rs (Reduce, Reuse and Recycling).