South Asia is one of the most vulnerable regions to climate shocks. The region is living through a “new climate normal” in which intensifying heat waves, cyclones, droughts, and floods are testing the limits of government, businesses, and citizens to adapt. More than half of all South Asians, or 750 million people in the 8 countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka — were affected by one or more climate-related disasters in the last two decades.  The changing climate could sharply diminish living conditions for up to 800 million people in a region that already has some of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable populations.

At the same time, South Asia is pioneering many climate-smart solutions, including innovative community approaches to coastal resilience, scaling up renewable energy, and regenerative forestry. Accelerating and scaling up these efforts is critical to building resilience to the rapidly warming climate in the region and reducing emissions.

Helping countries combat climate change:

The World Bank Group released its new South Asia Climate Roadmap to help guide its interventions as it implements the World Bank Group Climate Change Action Plan 2.0 in this key region. The Roadmap lays out how the Bank Group will support climate action – both mitigation and adaptation efforts – for our government and private sector clients over the next five years.

The World Bank Group’s South Asia Climate Roadmap will help the region ramp up its climate action in key transitions:

• The Agriculture, Food, Water, and Land Systems Transition
• The Energy and Transport Transition
• The Urban Transition

The World Bank’s climate financing for the South Asia region has risen from $1.4 billion in fiscal year 2017 (July 1, 2016 – June 30, 2017) to $3.7 billion in fiscal year 2021 (July 1, 2019 – June 30, 2021). Last fiscal year, more than $1.9 billion of the climate financing went towards supporting adaptation actions while $1.8 billion went towards climate mitigation actions in the region. In addition to climate financing, the Bank Group is rolling out new Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs) in South Asian countries which will aim to inform strategic engagement for climate-aligned development. 

(This article was first published by The World Bank).