The ABM measures the contribution towards adaptation finance from donors and investors in order to contribute towards developed countries’ Copenhagen pledge to mobilize US $100 billion by 2020, 50% for adaptation.
Gareth Phillips, Manager, Climate and Environment Finance, PECG1
The ABM is an innovative mechanism for mobilizing new and additional public and private sector finance for enhanced climate change adaptation action. It has the potential to speed up transformation to low-carbon, resilient and sustainable development of the host countries by giving value to resilience.
ABM will contribute directly to the establishment of a new business model for adaptation and the achievement of:
The Sustainable Development Goals;
The Adaptation and Climate Finance goals of the Paris Agreement;
The UNFCCC long-term finance goal;
Adaptation and resilience goals and needs of developing countries expressed in, amongst others, Nationally Determined Contributions, National Adaptation Plans, Technology Action Plans and Long-term strategies for low-emissions, resilient and sustainable development.
Project participants shall implement the monitoring plan contained in the registered project description and provide a description of monitoring roles and responsibilities to this end.
The Executive Board shall supervise the ABM, under the authority and guidance of the COP/CMA, and be fully accountable to the COP/CMA. In this context, the Executive Board shall:
(b) Make recommendations to the COP/CMA on further modalities and procedures for the ABM, as appropriate;
(c) Make recommendations to the COP/CMA on any amendments or additions to rules of procedure for the Executive Board contained in the present annex, as appropriate;
(d) Report on its activities to each session of the COP/CMA;
(e) Approve new methodologies and framework methodologies relating to, inter alia, baselines, monitoring plans and project boundaries in accordance with the provisions of appendix C below;
(f) Maintain and periodically review the Environmental and social safeguards stipulated in appendix D in accordance with best available international practices.
(g) Develop, maintain and make publicly available positive lists of activities automatically eligible as ABM activities;
(h) Approve national or regional positive lists of activities automatically eligible under the ABM proposed by the host country DNA. Approval shall be based on transparent criteria developed by the ABM Executive Board;
(i) Make publicly available relevant information, submitted to it for this purpose, on proposed ABM project activities in need of funding and on investors seeking opportunities, in order to assist in arranging funding of ABM project activities, as necessary;
(j) Make any technical reports commissioned available to the public and provide a period of at least four weeks for public comments on draft methodologies and guidance before documents are finalized and any recommendations are submitted to the COP/CMA for their consideration;
(k) Develop, maintain and make publicly available a repository of approved rules, procedures, methodologies and standards;
(k) Develop and maintain the ABM registry as defined in appendix X below;
(l) Develop and maintain a publicly available database of ABM project activities containing information on registered project description, comments received, verification reports, its decisions as well as information on all ABs issued;
(m) Address issues relating to observance of modalities and procedures for the ABM by project participants and/or operational entities, and report on them to the COP/CMA;
(n) Carry out any other functions ascribed to it in decision x/CP.xx, the present annex and relevant decisions of the COP/CMA.
The scope for ABM projects is very broad covering all aspects of adaptation and resilience to climate change. The African Development Bank has developed some initial methodologies that can be tailored to a specific context. However, project developers are free to propose new methodologies. Early concepts include:
- Solar powered irrigation pumps to help farmers overcome unreliable rainfall;
- Drip irrigation technology to make better use of available irrigation water;
- Sustainable practices to protect cacao plantations form diseases exacerbated by climate change;
- Climate resilient agriculture to diversify income streams of vulnerable farmers;
- Development of weather information systems to provide farmers with accurate weather forecasts;
- Job creation for the most vulnerable groups affected by climate hazards, particularly women and youth;
- Coastal protection through afforestation with mangrove trees;
- A range of clean energy technologies, which free up women and children’s time enabling them to become more economically productive or attend school and hence become less vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.
Africa