DHAKA - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) on Thursday approved a $400 million loan for a climate-resilient project in Bangladesh that marks a cofinancing with the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

The funding will support the second phase of the "Climate-Resilient Inclusive Development Program (CRIDP)," which includes nearly 113 million dollars in cofinancing from the Agence Francaise de Developpement, and 400 million dollars from the AIIB, the Manila-based lender said.

"The program will help Bangladesh achieve its climate goals more efficiently by bringing government agencies together and aligning their work with national policies," said ADB senior public sector economist Sameer Khatiwada.

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"It will also remove obstacles to mobilizing climate finance, reinforce adaptation efforts in priority sectors, and speed up actions to reduce climate impacts," the economist said.

Under CRIDP, ADB said the Bangladesh Climate Development Partnership will be established to secure climate finance and help government ministries develop, implement, monitor and evaluate climate projects more effectively.

A new framework will scale up local youth-related and gender-responsive local adaptation measures, said the bank, adding the program also supports a national disaster risk financing strategy, including instruments like crop insurance, disaster risk insurance, and contingent disaster financing.

ADB said Bangladesh is one of the world's most climate-vulnerable nations. Recent studies show that if high greenhouse gas emissions continue, the country could lose up to one-third of its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2070.

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Tropical cyclones already cause about 1 billion dollars or 0.7 percent of GDP in damages each year, and severe flooding could shrink the economy by as much as 9 percent compared to expected growth by 2050. By that year, Bangladesh could lose 17 percent of its land and 30 percent of its food production, pushing food and nutrition security to a critical point.

The program addresses key constraints such as the lack of a holistic and effective institutional framework, as well as inadequate climate financing and private sector participation. It focuses on creating a supportive environment for climate actions, strengthening adaptation, and accelerating mitigation actions.