Climate financing to account for half of AIIB's total by 2025: bank president

Jin Liqun, president of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), speaks at a press conference in Beijing, capital of China, Jan. 13, 2021 Climate financing will account for half of the total financing approvals of the AIIB by 2025, the bank's president said Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

BEIJING, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- Climate financing will account for half of the total financing approvals of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) by 2025, the bank's president said Wednesday.

The COVID-19 pandemic has unprecedentedly impacted the global economy and the infrastructure development pattern will undergo important changes in the post-pandemic era, Jin Liqun told a press conference, adding that AIIB will focus on five key areas including building green and social infrastructure in the future.

Green infrastructure will help relevant countries and regions to accelerate economic transformation and upgrade, as well as move toward carbon neutrality, Jin said.

Such infrastructure will facilitate economic and social development without "leaving footprints" on the environment, he added.

Although the recent investment trend in green infrastructure has been positive, actual investment is still well below the desired target, Jin noted.

The AIIB began operations in January 2016 and currently, it has 103 approved members worldwide. Over the past five years, the bank approved a total of 22.02 billion U.S. dollars in loans and 108 projects.