What is Climate Change Asia

Climate Change Asia (CCA) is a Program launched at the Asian Institute of Technology to meet the diverse range of capacity building needs required to pursue low carbon development and achieve climate resilient societies in Asia. The program is designed to support the recently adopted Paris Agreement and the 2030 Development Agenda. A key feature of the program is to develop capacities in Asia to prepare, finance, and implement ‘bankable’ climate change mitigation and adaptation projects. The operational unit/ secretariat of CCA is hosted by the Regional Resource Centre for Asia and the Pacific (AIT-RRC.AP). The operation of CCA is overseen by the chair, vice chair and coordination committee which comprises of internationally known experts.

Why do we do this

Two new global agreements have set a course for addressing climate change over the coming decades. In September 2015, the UN General Assembly adopted the 2030 Development Agenda, to be achieved through 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). SDG 13 exhorts nations to "Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts" Three months later, the Paris Agreement on climate change was adopted at Conference of the Parties (COP21), aimed to hold the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels, and pursue efforts to reduce this further to 1.5 °C.

Asia is at the forefront in the battle against climate change. Meaningful progress towards meeting the global climate targets will be impossible to achieve without adequate action in Asia. Despite its vulnerability to climate change, Asia appears to be poorly equipped to address this imminent threat. There is a need to develop the capacity to prepare 'bankable' mitigation and adaptation projects based on appropriate technology that are capable of attracting domestic and international finance.

In light of the existing national plans for tackling climate change -Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs), National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), National Adaptation Programmes of Actions (NAPAs) and more recently the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)- Asian countries must now enhance efforts to address widespread capacity weaknesses. Capacity building programs are needed that can design, implement and monitor Asian solutions for Asia's climate change challenges drawing on regional as well as global knowledge and experience.

Expert Pool

We have over 50 technical experts at AIT working on various aspects of climate change, as well as a number of external international specialists, who together form a well-knit and robust team.