9.30 - 9.40 a.m., Opening speech: Jin Liqun, President, AIIB
9.40 - 10.30 a.m., Part 1: Climate Tech
10.35 - 11.30 a.m., Part 2: Digital Infrastructure

To date, green bonds have directed over USD3 trillion from capital markets to sustainable activities, including a small portion towards resilience. The demand for sustainable investments is continuously diversifying and growing. Yet, the supply of project pipelines falls short, leaving investor demand unmet and offering an untapped opportunity. By expanding the sustainable bond market to include a broader range of eligible investments that address the interconnected challenges of sustainable development, mitigation, and adaptation, we can unlock trillions of dollars to finance a more equitable, resilient, and sustainable future.

This session will explore leveraging nature as infrastructure and integrating nature-based solutions into infrastructure development. This will include a presentation on "nature as infrastructure," a key theme of our annual flagship report. The report examines the interplay between nature and development, emphasizing how sustainable infrastructure can protect the environment.

Understanding the current state of carbon markets and their role in reducing emissions and boosting green investments is crucial. Global cooperation is essential, especially in setting carbon prices, measuring carbon credits, and connecting various carbon markets. Also, while still growing, offset programs are a key part of carbon markets and need expansion to speed up green transitions.

Committed to financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrow (i4t), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is dedicated to building inclusively, with a focus on the needs of future generations. Recognizing the critical role of youth in the future, their active involvement in decision-making processes is essential to create strong ownership and sustain momentum for impactful change.

Seizing the opportunity at COP28, the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the Bloomberg Philanthropies are set to jointly host a flagship event titled "The Future of Financing Partnerships for Energy Transition". This event aims to explore collaborative approaches among Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs), philanthropic foundations, Sovereign Wealth Funds (SWFs), and private sector entities. The focus will be on combining their capital and strengths to develop scalable solutions and bridge the financing gaps that emerging markets face in transitioning to green energy.

Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and Development Finance Institutions (DFIs) are the primary financiers of climate adaptation, contributing to 98 percent of adaptation finance. Yet to address the growing global demand for strengthened community resilience, there is a critical and immediate need for a substantial escalation in financing from the private sector. This event will focus on the critical role and opportunities for private sector involvement in adaptation efforts.

Integrated Waste Management Solutions (IWMS) have emerged as an effective, if not imperative, approach to building a climate-resilient future, preventing pollution and advancing a circular economy for valuable material in the waste stream. Explore how Multilateral Development Banks, private sector and development partners and governments can work together with relevant platforms and initiatives to implement effective Integrated Waste Management Solutions (IWS).

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s (AIIB) Economics Department, in collaboration with the Center for Policy Research (CPR), the Council for Energy, Environment, and Water (CEEW), and a team of international experts, has undertaken a comprehensive study on India’s journey towards Net Zero. This report delves into six key areas: institutions and green governance; market-based policies and instruments; net zero targets and their implications for state governments and various sectors; modeling transition pathways; green financing; and lifestyle choices for environmental sustainability.

Central Asian countries are facing severe water stress. This will likely worsen due to climate change and socioeconomic growth. The panel will explore the varying needs of countries in Central Asia concerning inefficiency in water resource management. It will examine the support available for enhanced water usage and how both state and non-state actors can contribute to increased water resilience in the region.

This COP28 side event will focus on innovative technologies for climate change adaptation and enhancing resilience. It will illustrate how public-private partnerships and blended finance are key in addressingthe significant adaptation finance gap, which, according to the United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), currently stands at around USD 387 billion per year.

Conceiving and delivering resilient infrastructure is a challenge that is too immense for any single entity to tackle in isolation. Governments, financial institutions, and the private sector all have vital roles to play. Insurance also plays a crucial role in enabling and managing the risk of these projects, helping to unlock financing for them, and supporting rapid recovery and restoration in the wake of disasters. This event aims to attract a range of global public and private sector actors, active in the areas of resilient infrastructure, energy transition and nature-based solutions.

Scaling clean energy transition and distributed renewable energy in Asia can significantly contribute to reducing carbon emissions, as the region is one of the largest contributors to global emissions. COP 28 Dubai provides a crucial platform for global leaders, institutions and stakeholders to address the urgent need for sustainable and climate-resilient energy systems.

The exponential growth of the green bond market shows that projects with a strong climate impact have a high potential to access capital market financing, appealing to an impact-driven investor base. A diverse panel of standard setters, investors, MDBs, and practitioners, will focus on exchanging insights and best practices in the issuance of climate adaptation bonds. It aims to address the challenges and investor expectations, promoting global replication to establish these bonds as a recognized asset class.

Urban areas in Asian countries face a growing array of challenges arising from climate change, rapid urbanization and the increasing frequency of natural disasters. The seminar aims to facilitate knowledge sharing and discussions on the effectiveness of tools and methodologies for enhancing urban resilience preparedness in Asian countries.

This event aims to explore innovative financing mechanisms, policy frameworks and best practices that can accelerate the transition to clean and sustainable energy systems from the perspectives of industry leaders, multilateral development banks and international organizations.

This inter-disciplinary panel will bring together multilateral and bilateral development institutions, international organizations and academia to discuss the opportunities and challenges related to the planning, design and financing of Nature as Infrastructure. In charting the way forward, the event will identify areas for collaboration and concrete solutions to scale up the use of Nature as Infrastructure, from policy making to project finance.

AIIB, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD) will host a high-level dialogue on scaling up nature and climate positive investments in the less developed nations and exchange on how can the international community to work together and mobilize resources to fight climate change, protect biodiversity and improve the lives and livelihoods of those most affected so that “No One is Left Behind.”