The Asian Development Bank (ADB) urged Southeast Asian governments and the private sector to redesign cities toward sustainability as over half of the region’s population now reside in urban areas.

ADB reported that 51.1 percent of Southeast Asians had been living in the cities in 2022, up from 46.2 percent in 2013 based on its Statistical Yearbook 2023.

The Philippines had the fifth biggest migration of people from the countryside to the cities from 2013 to 2022, with a 48 percent urban population two years ago.

Excluding Singapore, the top three Southeast Asian countries with the largest urban populations during that period were Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Rapid urbanization does not only lead to rising inequality and crimes, it also adds tremendous pressure on the local and global environment. These challenges make it imperative to design and build cities that are smart, green, and livable,” ADB said recently ahead of its Green Cities Investment Forum 2024.

It will be held on 26 to 27 November both through a virtual forum and a physical forum at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

“It will showcase quality infrastructure from a growing network of cities that have developed Green City Action Plans that detail specific and localized plans for green development and investment. In particular, the forum will feature investable infrastructure projects designed to address climate challenges,” ADB said.

These statements came after the ADB announced that multilateral development banks aim to distribute $120 billion in climate financing by 2030, of which $65 billion comes from the private sector.

The banks shared this target at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan (COP29) which ran from November 11 to 24.

$300-B support

At the end of the conference, COP29 president Mukhtar Babayev announced that developed countries must provide at least $300 billion per year in climate financing to developing countries by 2035 under the Baku Finance Goal.

The new fund commitment is three times bigger than the target in 2022. However, the minimum $300 billion is much smaller than the $1.3 trillion per year in climate finance that developing countries are demanding.

“The Baku Finance Goal represents the best possible deal we could reach, and we have pushed the donor countries as far as possible. The science shows that the challenges will only grow. Our ability to work together will be tested,” Babayev said.

Finance Secretary Ralph Recto said massive climate financing from richer and industrialized countries is reasonable as they are the biggest contributors to climate change.