AIIB AND PARIS ALIGNMENT

The Paris Agreement (PA) is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties in December 2015 and entered into force less than a year later in November 2016. The vast majority of members of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) ratified the PA and committed to pursuing efforts to limit the increase in the global average temperature (mitigation), increasing the ability to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change (adaptation and resilience), and aligning finance flows with these goals.

AIIB, as a MDB established right after PA was adopted, is committed to supporting its members’ sustainable economic growth including their respective climate commitment by investing in infrastructure and other productive sectors.

AIIB has been actively preparing to operationalize its commitment to Paris Alignment including developing its technical assessment methodology. With the publication of the “Methodology for Assessing the Alignment of AIIB Investment Operations with the Paris Agreement”, AIIB meets its commitment made less than two years ago to actively support infrastructure projects that contribute to climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, and reinforces its mission to promote sustainable infrastructure development in Asia and beyond.

Guided by the joint MDB methodological framework, the AIIB Methodology provides further technical details on how AIIB investment operations will be assessed for their alignment with the mitigation and adaptation goals of the Paris Agreement. It also reflects the Bank’s positioning on the Paris Agreement, which goes beyond safeguards or compliance, to identify opportunities where the Bank can provide additional value to clients.

Acknowledging that application of the joint MDB methodological framework is at an early stage and will evolve, the AIIB Methodology will be updated periodically reflecting the growing experience of AIIB and its peer MDBs in operationalizing the PA alignment. As such, the Bank also expects, and welcomes, feedback from its members, clients, and other stakeholders during its PA methodology application.