Such emissions are chiefly responsible for the polluted air we breathe. Apart from its effect on pulmonary diseases and people’s quality of life, pollution correlates with a rise in the planet’s average temperature. That may severely affect the economy, tourism and agriculture, prompting potential humanitarian or migratory crises we can hardly evaluate at present. I believe we will all agree that climate change is the most global matter we can imagine, both in its consequences and its causes. Clearly, a potential rise in temperatures affects the entire planet. And evidently, too, atmospheric pollution does not stop when it reaches a border. Fortunately, most countries are adopting strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions as a way to mitigate the associated risks. Let us not forget that, despite this being a global problem, the rise in temperatures would have different effects from one country to another,3 hence the importance of international agreements being reached. 1  Among the key pieces of legislation setting ceilings on pollutants in Europe are the 2008 Directive on ambient air quality (2008/50/EC) and the 1996 Framework Directive on ambient air quality assessment and management (96/62/EC). See https://www.eea.europa.eu/ 2 http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/wps/portal/rielcano_es/contenido?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/elcano/elcano_es/z onas_es/encuesta-espanoles-ante-cambio-climatico-sep-2019 3 Some studies indicate that global warming may be proving economically and socially beneficial for the rich countries, in particular the coldest ones such as Sweden and Norway, while adversely affecting poorer countries. See Noah S. Diffenbaugh and Marshall Burke, “Global warming has increased global economic inequality”.
Factors like certainty in government’s sector development plan, clarity in publicprivate partnership (PPP) framework, conducive legal, regulatory and institutional environment, and capacity to develop and implement projects are key to attracting private sector investors. ADB has an important role to play in capacity building, and through its interventions, catalyse reforms and assist governments to develop an environment conducive for private sector investment. Given the high degree of perceived risk of long-term infrastructure projects, public sector support is often needed to catalyse private sector investment. Provision of credit enhancements and guarantees as well as PPP are common modalities of public sector support, and more work should be done to find new and effective ways to catalyse private sector investments. We are glad to see ADB’s expanded efforts in mobilising private sector  BIS central bankers’ speeches  1  investment under Strategy 2020. With the support of ADB, the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) established by ASEAN is expected to help mobilise private capital as well as the region’s foreign exchange reserves for financing infrastructure projects in the ASEAN economies. While the AIF is newly set up and more time is needed to observe the effectiveness of this model, the AIF represents a meaningful attempt by regional governments to cooperate and find new ways to mobilise public and private savings of the region to finance Asia’s own infrastructure needs. We encourage further efforts in this regard, and ADB, with its expertise and resources, is best placed to support such efforts.