The challenge of mitigating the dangerous impacts of climate change and the need for climate adaptation has never been more urgent, yet the Asia-Pacific region is falling behind on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and the environment-related SDGs, in particular. Climate change and extreme weather events fundamentally threaten development in Asia and the Pacific, often undermining the enjoyment of human rights and exacerbating societal inequalities by disproportionately burdening the poor and the most vulnerable groups. Countries in Asia and the Pacific must accelerate ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation actions to safeguard hard-fought development gains, and to rapidly transition towards an equitable low-carbon and climate- and disaster-resilient development pathway post-COVID-19.

The scale of the investment needed means that the transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient economy will require a shift from business as usual in the finance ecosystem. Innovative financing instruments, mechanisms and associated policies have a critical role to play in mobilizing the investment capital needed to address climate change and recover from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The project, implemented by ESCAP, will support four Member States in Asia and the Pacific in three areas: (a) understanding the role of nature-based solutions in addressing climate change (integrated mitigation and adaptation action); (b) increasing investment in nature-based solutions using innovative climate financing mechanisms; and (c) implementing climate-smart trade practices in support of such nature-based solutions.