Climate Proofing ADB Investment in the Transport Sector: Initial Experience

By Asian Development Bank

The transport sector is key to the continued economic development of Asia and the Pacific. By improving connectivity and making the movement of goods and people more affordable, transport contributes to economic growth, efficiency, and competitiveness while providing poor people with access to economic opportunities and services. Various components of the transport infrastructure are exposed and vulnerableto climate change. This is of particular concern to countries in Asia and the Pacific which will experience significant adverse impacts from a changing climate. The Asian Development Bank has put in place a systematic framework guiding the conduct of climate risk and vulnerability assessments of investment projects. Ongoing initiatives will address some of the key challenges encountered when conducting climate risk and vulnerability assessments, including access to readily available climate change information.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Asian Development Bank
• Release date: Jan 1, 2015
• ISBN: 9789292548568

Book preview

CLIMATE PROOFING ADB INVESTMENT IN THE TRANSPORT SECTOR

INITIAL EXPERIENCE

© 2014 Asian Development Bank

All rights reserved. Published in 2014.

Printed in the Philippines.

ISBN 978-92-9254-855-1 (Print), 978-92-9254-856-8 (e-ISBN)

Publication Stock No. RPT146741-2

Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Asian Development Bank.

Climate proofing ADB investment in the transport sector: initial experience

Mandaluyong City, Philippines; Asian Development Bank, 2014.

1. Climate change.     2. Climate proofing     3. Transport sector     I. Asian Development Bank.

The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), or its Board of Governors, or the governments they represent.

ADB does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this publication and does not accept responsibility for any consequence of their use.

By making any designation of or reference to a particular territory or geographic area, or by using the term country in this document, ADB does not intend to make any judgments as to the legal or other status of any territory or area.

ADB encourages printing or copying information exclusively for personal and noncommercial use with proper acknowledgment of ADB. Users are restricted from reselling, redistributing, or creating derivative works for commercial purposes without the express, written consent of ADB.

Unless otherwise stated, boxes, figures and tables without explicit sources were prepared by the authors.

In this publication, $ refers to US dollars.

Cover photo by Kristen Elsby

A Khmer woman and child commuting through Kampong Khleang village on the Tonle Sap lake, the largest freshwater lake in Southeast Asia. This lake is unique as it expands and shrinks dramatically between seasons and changes flow direction twice a year due to changing water levels in the connecting Mekong river. Some local fishing villages have adapted to the annual flooding by building houses on stilts and commuting by boat during flooding and road during the dry season.

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CONTENTS

TABLES, FIGURES, AND BOXES

TABLES

FIGURES

BOXES

ABBREVIATIONS

Note:

All temperatures reported are in degrees Celsius.

FOREWORD

Investments in transport infrastructure are key to the continued economic development of Asia and the Pacific. By improving connectivity and making the movement of goods and people more affordable, transport contributes to economic growth, efficiency, and competitiveness, and provides poor people with increased access to economic opportunities and services. Investments in the transport sector are a key form of support that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provides to its developing member countries.

Transport infrastructure is highly vulnerable to projected climate change. Rising sea levels, increase in temperature, changes in precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events can affect the operation and safety of roads, bridges, ports, and other transport infrastructure, and significantly disrupt the flow of goods, services, and people within and across countries of the region. This is of particular concern in Asia and the Pacific, which is already experiencing significant adverse impacts from a changing climate.

ADB recognizes that development is about lasting benefits. Continued poverty reduction requires proactive efforts to address environmental sustainability, including mitigating the causes of climate change and supporting vulnerable communities in adapting to the unavoidable impacts of climate change. To rise to this challenge, ADB’s climate change adaptation program has evolved over a decade from an initial effort to promote adaptation in operations to a rigorous approach to integrate climate risk management in national planning and investment projects in all sectors. In early 2014, ADB formalized a climate risk management framework to screen all investment projects and to incorporate adaptation measures in projects at risk. ADB has produced a suite of tools and guidance materials, including guidelines for climate proofing investments in the transport, energy, and agriculture sectors, to support climate risk and vulnerability assessments (CRVAs) in investment projects and to disseminate knowledge and best practice. ADB’s Strategy 2020, along with Addressing Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific: Priorities for Action, Environment Operational Directions 2013–2020, and Sustainable Transport Initiative—Operational Plan are all aligned in committing ADB’s technical and financial support to its developing member countries to address climate change, including mainstreaming climate risk management in transport sector investment projects. The midterm review of Strategy 2020 reinforced this commitment, and indicates that ADB will scale up support for climate risk management in development planning and investment projects.

This publication reviews and documents experiences gained