Ocean Resilience and Coastal Adaptation in Asia and the Pacific - Ahmed Saeed

Opening remarks by Ahmed M. Saeed, ADB Vice-President, Operations 2, at the Ocean Resilience and Coastal Adaptation in Asia and the Pacific, a two-part side event organized by ADB at the COP 27, 8 November 2022

Good morning, excellencies, ladies, and gentlemen.

I am very happy to open this event on strengthening ocean resilience and scaling up actions in coastal climate adaptation - a topic of critical importance to countries and communities in Asia and the Pacific.

The devastating impacts of climate change are already being felt in our region. Increasingly intense tropical cyclones and related storm surges and sea level rise is causing coastal flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, king tides, and loss of land with impacts on coastal ecosystems, such as coral reefs and mangroves, livelihoods, infrastructure, and settlements. For example, estimates suggests that in Indonesia, 4.2 million people in low-lying islands could be exposed to permanent flooding by 2070–2100.¹

For the wider blue economy, with over 90% of the world’s trade being seaborne, climate risk is increasingly identified as a key risk to operations of ports with corresponding disruption of the maritime supply chain. Estimates suggest that in Viet Nam 1.1 million tons of aquaculture production is at risk of flooding each year, corresponding to $935 million in export.²

Thus, at ADB, we have increased our climate ambition – providing $100 billion of climate finance between 2019-2030, out of which $34 billion is for climate adaptation and resilience. We have also committed to providing $5 billion in ocean investments by 2024.

However, we recognize that business-as-usual development will not be sufficient to support countries and coastal communities protect oceans and build coastal resilience. Three things will be critical:

First, understanding of longer-term climate risks have to drive every development decision in coastal areas and ensure decisions being made today do not lock-in risks in the future. Our support to Tonga in undertaking multi-hazard disaster risk assessment for Tongatapu Island will help develop an adaptation pathway for the island and which will form the basis for identifying future investments.

Second, investments to build coastal resilience need to include a combination of pro-poor measures – in infrastructure, livelihoods, and institutional strengthening. ADB has recently approved a project to support 22 coastal towns in Bangladesh invest in infrastructure to reduce coastal flooding, cyclone shelters to protect lives, build resilient livelihood of poor and vulnerable households, and strengthen local institutions to pursue climate-risk informed urban planning.

Third, innovative approaches and financing are critical to scale up investments. Our ongoing support to Fiji to pilot blended grey/green coastal protection infrastructure, and innovative parametric insurance for the financing of coral reef protection, is one such example.

We are in the process of establishing an Ocean Resilience and Coastal Adaptation Financing Partnership Facility, which will promote these approaches. Building on ongoing support from Government of Ireland, and discussions with Nordic Development Fund on potential partnership, we believe this Facility will allow us to take a programmatic approach in strengthening the nexus between climate and oceans.

At ADB, we understand that the Pacific is facing an existential climate emergency, and more support is needed by countries to continue and expand vital ocean-climate work. We are pleased to share with you today our intention to establish the new Blue Pacific Finance Hub, to provide catalytic grant finance to grow the Pacific blue economy, to improve ocean health and climate resilience, which in turn, sustains communities and cultures.

At its core, the Blue Pacific Finance Hub is a partnership, one that each of you are invited to join. The Hub aims to be country- and region-driven, with ADB providing the role of facilitation, technical assistance, and funding. Our target is to raise $50 million USD in grant finance, to leverage $500 million in climate-resilient ocean investments. We are pleased to share with you that we are making good progress towards this goal, and today we are announcing the first tranche of funding commitments totaling $16.5 million USD from the Global Environment Facility – Least Developed Countries Fund, the Nordic Development Fund, and ADB.

The Blue Pacific Finance Hub will build policies and capacities to support blue economies, prepare projects for funding, and provide project implementation finance. Three investment themes will be supported: ocean-climate action, circular economy, and sustainable seafood and marine protected areas.

In the second half of the program, you will hear directly from some of countries who will benefit from this new initiative, and from the founding donors about why they have chosen to support this exciting new initiative, together with a video about the Blue Pacific Finance Hub.

Let me once again thank you for joining this session and I look forward to active collaboration with you all in taking forward ADB’s commitments for strengthening ocean and climate resilience.