South Asia
“As a run up to COP26 and with the intent of catalysing accelerated collective action that is immediate, bold, and fast to address the climate crisis, USAID collaborated with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to co-host several sessions at this year’s Asia Clean Energy Forum (ACEF). This year’s thematic focus was “Accelerating the Low-Carbon Transition in Asia and the Pacific.” and was hosted during the week of June 14 to 18.
On June 17, USAID’s regional programs South Asia Regional Energy Hub (SAREH) and South Asia Group for Energy (SAGE), joinly organised a session that brought together high-level participation from Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka to deliberate the challenges, opportunities, and potential paths forward in achieving decarbonization in critical sectors including power, transportation, buildings, and industry in South Asia. The virtual event also showcased the United States’ administration priorities on climate change and USAID’s role in faster and deeper decarbonization in the region. USAID’s SAGE consortium set the context and a panel discussion followed. On behalf of USAID, Ms. Julia Kennedy delivered opening remarks emphasizing USAID’s initiatives to help energize a net-zero Asia as well as catalyse climate action through government, the private sector, and civil society participation. Speeding up the low-carbon transition in Asia is essential to meeting the Biden-Harris Administration’s bold climate goals, and the ACEF 2021 fostered critical dialogue leading up to the U.N. Climate Change Conference of the Parties, COP26, to unite the world towards tackling climate change. Webinar recording of this event is available here.
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