Climate change has become the most pressing global threat at the moment.

It will impose an additional burden on sustainable development in Africa, even as the continent contributes very little to the total global greenhouse gas emissions.

The modest gains that the continent has achieved in the past decade could be reversed by climate change.

While both mitigation and adaptation are important in the long run, we have watched how less attention is being paid to adaptation in the international agenda.

Adaptation in the present is fundamental to the achievement of poverty reduction and sustainable development, which are indeed needed in order to strengthen the continent's ability and disposition towards charting a low carbon development pathway.

We should not miss the opportunity to do this now, while Africa remains a low carbon emitter.

The African Development Bank (ADB) is addressing both climate change adaptation and mitigation in the continent using a mainstreaming approach.

The Bank's mainstreaming efforts have involved internal re-organisation to reposition the Bank for improved performance.

This has included the creation of the Gender, Climate Change and Sustainable Unit that is tasked with coordinating the mainstreaming of cross-cutting issues Bank-wide and within RMCs.

Africa requires a coordinated and informed approach to chart a low-carbon development pathway and is therefore developing a 'Green Growth Strategy' for the continent.

This strategy will guide operations in ensuring environmental sustainability, making it a Green Bank while supporting regional member countries to grow a green economy.

All ongoing projects have been screened for climate risk and all at-risk projects are being 'climate-proofed' by building additional climate change components to them.

Because, the availability of appropriate, useful and useable climate data is central to addressing climate change challenges, the Bank, in partnership with the Commission of the African Union (AUC) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) is implementing the $135 million 'Climate for Development in Africa (ClimDev-Africa) Programme' that aims at building climate resilience into Africa's development.

The Bank has committed about US$ 30 million to the programme to strengthen institutional capacities in four African Regional Climate Centres (ACMAD, AGHRYMET, ICPAC and the SADC Drought Monitoring Centre) to be able to serve as regional hubs for the Global Framework for Climate Services.

UNECA has established the African Climate Policy Centre to further support this initiative.

Donors such as DFID, the Government of Sweden have also supported the programme.

We call on other development partners to support this flagship African programme on climate change.

Successfully mainstreaming climate change anywhere in the world requires a global commitment to substantially cut down greenhouse gas emissions to scientifically acceptable levels.

Africa cannot continuously mainstream a limitless or 'runaway' global warming into its development processes.

Recent scientific assessments have shown that the world is not on a trajectory that would keep the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees centigrade.

We call on all major emitters to substantially cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions, respecting the principles enshrined in the UNFCCC.

Mainstreaming requires substantial financial resources.

Existing financial resources are grossly inadequate and the ADB identifies with the global sentiments in the failure to reach a binding agreement in Copenhagen that would commit adequate financial resources to developing countries.

In addition to the question of adequacy is the choice of an effective mechanism to channel the resources to ensure that they are used most effectively to achieve development results.

More thoughts need to be given to the second issue.

Climate change is no-longer a long-term environmental issue but a present threat to poverty reduction and the achievement of sustainable development.

The Regional Development Banks have decades of experience in delivering on development effectiveness and therefore, MUST play very substantial roles in the Post-Copenhagen financing mechanism to ensure its success.

Public resources alone will not be sufficient to address climate change threats in Africa.

The Bank is therefore using public funds to leverage private capital, particularly through the carbon market.

The Bank has recently approved programmes and projects related to hydropower, co-generation and wind, which are designed to earn income for regional member countries through carbon credits.

The Bank is also implementing an elaborate programme that will enhance the capacities of African countries to tap carbon finance and CDM projects and reduce the cost of clean energy development while ensuring that appropriate policy, institutional arrangements and market-based incentives are put in place to promote investments that contribute to sustainable development.

No single institution alone can successfully address the developmental threats of climate change in Africa.

The Bank has established partnerships with other institutions such as UNDP, IFAD, WFP, FAO, to maximise comparative advantages.

Energy will continue to play a significant role in addressing carbon emissions globally.

ADB is committed to increasing Africa's access to clean energy while maintaining a low rate of carbon emissions.

Dr Nyong is the head of gender, climate change and sustainable development unit at the ADB.