MANILA, May 4 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) vowed on Tuesday to put more focus on the adaptation and resilience to climate change in response to the growing threat facing the Asia-Pacific.

ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa said the Asia-Pacific region "is experiencing a sharp increase in climate shocks and stresses."

Floods, droughts, cyclones, and heat stresses are already impacting livelihoods, food, and water security, and the health of millions of people, especially vulnerable populations including women and children and the poorest of the poor, Asakawa said at a webinar during ADB's 54th annual meeting.

He added that more than 60 percent of the people in the region work in sectors highly susceptible to changing weather patterns.

"We must invest more in climate adaptation. We are now dangerously close to the point where action could come too little, too late," Asakawa said.

The meeting discussed ways by which a green, resilient, and inclusive recovery can drive economic growth while shifting toward net-zero emission societies, insights from countries that have embraced long-term national climate plans, and the critical role of finance in the global climate agenda.

The ADB said its move to increase adaptation and resilience investments will include nature-based solutions such as mangroves for coastal resilience, flood risk management-related infrastructure, and climate-smart livelihood practices.

These actions will complement ADB's ambitious climate finance target of ensuring that 75 percent of the total number of ADB's operations support climate action and ADB's own climate finance resources reach 80 billion U.S. dollars by 2030.