Manila, Philippines, September 2025 - UNDP spotlighted the Adaptation Accelerator Hub (AAH) at the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Climate Adaptation Investment Planning (CAIP) Forum 2025, introducing the initiative to governments, finance institutions and partners from across Asia and the Pacific. Led by the Government of Italy under the Mattei Plan for Africa and backed by the G7, the Hub is designed to help countries fast-track adaptation priorities into investment-ready projects. As the Hub’s partner agency, UNDP emphasized how the initiative is building momentum for climate-resilient development where it is needed most.
The two-day forum (3–4 September) convened governments, development partners, financial institutions and private sector representatives from across Asia and the Pacific to advance adaptation investment planning. Its aim: to help countries translate national priorities, as outlined in National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) and Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), into investment-ready projects that can mobilize public and private finance at scale
Introducing the Adaptation Accelerator Hub
At a session on linking climate adaptation investment planning to global processes, UNDP highlighted the unique role of the Adaptation Accelerator Hub as a practical mechanism to connect policy ambition with implementation on the ground.
While global ambition on adaptation has strengthened over the past decade – reflected in more ambitious NDCs – investments remain insufficient to meet the scale of climate risks. The Adaptation Accelerator Hub – launched in 2024 with support from the G7 and the Government of Italy – aims to help countries close this gap by turning national plans and strategies into pipelines of viable projects that can attract finance.
“Both CAIP and the Adaptation Accelerator Hub share a common vision: identifying and promoting investable adaptation priorities,” noted Yusuke Taishi, UNDP’s Senior Technical Advisor and Acting Head of Climate Change Adaptation, who represented UNDP at the Forum. “By introducing the Hub here in Manila, our goal was to explore synergies with ADB and other partners – learning from CAIP’s long-term approach while offering a platform to accelerate action where it is urgently needed.”
Aligning global and regional efforts
CAIP operates at a regional scale and is designed as a long-term platform to systematically integrate adaptation into macroeconomic and fiscal planning. In contrast, the Adaptation Accelerator Hub functions as a two-year initiative focused on helping countries rapidly advance their adaptation investment pipelines.
UNDP emphasized that these complementary approaches present valuable opportunities for collaboration. By linking CAIP’s structured planning with the Adaptation Accelerator Hub’s acceleration model, countries could benefit from both deep analysis and practical support to bring projects to market.
The focus was on how CAIP and AAH can be embedded in global processes: supporting the implementation of NAPs, aligning with Country Climate Platforms, and contributing to international frameworks such as the Baku to Belem Roadmap on climate finance.
Participation in Manila marked an important step in strengthening partnerships with ADB and other actors working to scale up adaptation finance. The Forum provided a useful entry point for continued dialogue on how to align methodologies, share lessons and coordinate support for countries across regions.
“Collaboration between platforms like CAIP and the Adaptation Accelerator Hub can help ensure that adaptation finance is not only mobilized but also directed towards the priorities that matter most to communities on the frontlines of climate change,” Taishi stressed.
As climate impacts intensify, initiatives that make adaptation investment more strategic, inclusive, and finance-ready are essential. By working together through platforms like CAIP and the Adaptation Accelerator Hub, countries can gain the tools, knowledge and pipelines needed to deliver adaptation at the speed and scale the world urgently requires.
*
Led by the Government of Italy in alignment with the development objectives of the Mattei Plan for Africa, with UNDP as the partner agency, the Adaptation Accelerator Hub (AAH) supports developing countries – particularly those most vulnerable to climate change – to accelerate climate adaptation, helping translate national priorities into bankable, finance-ready initiatives that can drive systemic, long-term resilience. Learn more.
