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World Development Report 2010

This blog is hosted by the authors of the World Bank's World Development Report 2010, "Development and Climate Change". It is a forum to get broad-based input on fundamental questions relating to climate change and development. Find out more »

April 2009

80-120 Million

80
to 120 million people are at risk of hunger due to climate change, 70-80% will be in Africa (UNFCCC)

Trade and Climate Change: Challenges and opportunities for developing countries

Submitted by Muthukumara Mani on Tue, 04/28/2009 - 13:55

Interaction between trade and climate change regimes has received much attention lately. While I can think of a number of “climate-positive” reasons for exploring synergies between the two regimes and for aligning policies that could stimulate production, trade, and investment in cleaner technology options, much of focus instead has been on using trade measures as weapons in the global climate negotiations.  This stems mainly from competitiveness concerns in countries that are now racing to reduce GHG emissions to meet Kyoto 2012 targets and beyond and in the US primarily to allay domestic fears of a tightening climate regime. These concerns have led to proposals for tariff or border tax adjustments to offset any adverse impact of capping CO2 emissions. This also has roots in the fear of leakage of carbon-intensive industries such as steel and chemicals to non-implementing countries.

Development Marketplace seeks volunteers to help assess innovative climate change ideas

Submitted by Rasmus Heltberg on Wed, 04/22/2009 - 09:04

Development Marketplace (DM) is a competitive grants program administered by the World Bank that identifies and funds innovative, early-stage projects that deliver results and have a high potential for scale-up.

This year's global competition on Climate Adaptation (DM 2009) focuses on (i) Resilience of Indigenous People's Communities to Climate Risks; (ii) Climate Risk Management with Multiple Benefits; and (iii) Climate Adaptation and Disaster Risk Management.

For every annual DM global competition, over 200 assessors (including some World Bank staff) volunteer to review proposals and select finalists. We are seeking development professionals with expertise in climate change adaptation to help identify the 100 finalists. Assessors commit to volunteer approximately 5-7 hours between June 4-10, 2009 to review 30-40 proposals  and submit online the ranking of their top eight most innovative proposals.

Risk of intensified storm surges: High stakes for developing countries

Submitted by Susmita Dasgupta on Thu, 04/16/2009 - 16:57
Flood Victims Wait for Relief
Photo © Syed Zakir Hossain/Greenpeace

We are now faced with overwhelming scientific evidence that more intense storm surges and sea-level rise from climate change are serious global threats. Increased cyclonic activity and heightened storm surges are expected from the rise in sea surface temperature now observed at all latitudes and in all oceans. Even small changes in sea level profoundly affect storm surge height and the extent of flooding in coastal zones and adjoining low-lying areas. I think there is a dire need for greater disaster preparedness in countries vulnerable to such storm surges.

Innovative Adaptation

Submitted by Rosina Bierbaum on Mon, 04/13/2009 - 10:24

co-authored with Arun Agrawal

Everyone agrees that innovation and its diffusion of innovations are key to managing climate change. Meeting the climate challenge in the coming decades will be fundamentally more difficult if we fail to come up with new, more cost-effective technologies.

But global efforts to innovate and share existing innovations fall woefully short of what is needed.

Nowhere is the gap between need and reality more glaring than for innovations related to adaptation. Members of climate change community who care about innovation have had their sights firmly fixed on technological innovations on the mitigation side: to reduce and capture emissions, to geo-engineer climate, to make energy use more efficient, to meet global energy needs through alternative and advanced renewable sources ... the list goes on.

The next urban crisis: poverty and climate change

Submitted by Judith Rodin on Wed, 04/08/2009 - 08:20

With Maria Blair, Associate Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation

The next urban crisis: poverty and climate change
Photo: © Jonas Bendiksen,
courtesy of the Rockefeller Foundation

We read Nicholas Stern’s blog post, “Low-Carbon Growth: The Only Sustainable Way to Overcome World Poverty,”  with appreciation and enthusiasm.  It is an insightful and important essay, illuminating the bedrock recognition on which effective 21st century development efforts must build: global climate change and poverty are inextricably interconnected.  The best way to break one is to bend the other.