2021 ADBI Annual Conference: Experts Spotlight Developing Asia’s Carbon Net-Zero Pathways
Biographies of the Speakers Click to view
Tokyo, Japan – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Jim Skea and Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masatsugu Asakawa stressed the importance of greater evidence-based policy innovation to help finance post-COP26 net-zero carbon emissions targets and mitigate growing climate risks in developing Asia and the Pacific during the opening of the virtual 2021 Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI) Annual Conference on 1 December.
Skea delivered a presentation on mitigation needs in light of the latest climate science, while President Asakawa described new ADB climate measures and how policy research featured during the conference could better position economies in Asia and the Pacific to lead the way in the global fight against climate change. ADBI Dean Tetsushi Sonobe and Research Fellow Dina Azhgaliyeva set the stage for discussions on advancing carbon neutral project financing, green energy and building development, carbon pricing, and regional cooperation.
The ADBI Annual Conference will conclude on 3 December, with remarks from COP26 President Alok Sharma, as well as insights from top policy researchers on sustainable agriculture, forestry, and land use; decarbonizing the transportation sector; and the outlook for climate financing by multilateral development banks.
Registration will remain open until the conclusion of the conference.
View Video Presentation by Jim Skea, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
View ADB President Asakawa’s Video Remarks
Key Quotes
Jim Skea, Co-Chair, Working Group III - Mitigation of Climate Change, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC); Professor of Sustainable Energy, Imperial College London
“One of the clear messages out of the [IPCC Global Warming of] 1.5 Degrees [Celsius] report is that there are significant and discernible changes in the level of risk as you move from one and a half to two degrees warming.”
“Very, very big changes, which we summarized up in the IPCC report, deep emission cuts across all systems, and rapid, far reaching, and unprecedented changes in all systems [are required] and these were very carefully chosen words from IPCC.”
Masatsugu Asakawa, President, ADB
“We must confront the uncomfortable truth that our region is the source of more than 50% of annual global greenhouse gas emissions. It is clear that bold and urgent action is needed to combat the great challenges we face. For this, we must implement new and innovative policy solutions to ensure green, inclusive, and sustainable development.”
“ADBI is playing a complementary role in these efforts to chart a fair and equitable path to net-zero carbon emission economies, while ensuring a strong and inclusive post-COVID recovery.”
Tetsushi Sonobe, Dean, ADBI
“The sharing of knowledge and views on policy options for boosting climate change mitigation and green finance in developing Asia is particularly valuable given the region’s heavy reliance on fossil fuel consumption and tight fiscal space following the COVID-19 pandemic responses.
Dina Azhgaliyeva, Research Fellow, ADBI
“Ambitious nationally determined contributions and net-zero carbon targets by mid-century announced at COP26 in November cannot be met just by the energy sector; other sectors also need to be decarbonized. That is why it is essential to discuss financing solutions that facilitate climate change mitigation across key sectors of the region’s economies.”
