The African Development Bank’s Adaptation Benefits Mechanism (ABM), piloted across Africa since 2019, has become the first non-market approach registered on the UNFCCC’s Non-Market Approaches Platform under Article 6.8. of the Paris Agreement. It is designed to be a “mechanism for mobilizing new and additional public and private sector finance to enhance climate change adaptation action. It has the potential to speed up host countries’ transformation toward low-carbon, climate-resilient, and sustainable development pathways by certifying the value of resilience in terms of benefits and incremental costs.” The ABM certifies quantified adaptation benefits using rigorous methodologies and independent verification, providing transparent data on resilience improvements, co-benefits and the associated finance. This information supports Paris Agreement reporting, SDG tracking, and ESG frameworks. Through Adaptation Benefits Supply Agreements with users of the information generated via the ABM, the mechanism enables project developers to monetize certified benefits and access capital markets, while making adaptation costs transparent. Under Article 6.8. of the Paris Agreement (which follows its provisions on carbon trading), countries recognise the importance of non-market approaches in achieving their NDCs, through the provision of finance, technology transfer and capacity building.
