The Asian Development Bank’s recently announced climate finance numbers in 2023 amounted to a massive jump from the previous year: $9.8 billion committed, up from $6.7 billion in 2022.
What’s more, the share counted toward climate adaptation — typically trickier to finance than projects designed to mitigate carbon dioxide emissions — leaped from $2.7 billion to $4.3 billion.
We spoke with Warren Evans, ADB’s special senior adviser on climate change, to get more on the story behind those numbers, his take on the Just Energy Transition Partnerships with Indonesia and Vietnam, and what he sees as the major under-discussed challenge for climate finance in the years ahead.