There is now strong consensus that climate change presents an urgent challenge to all countries’ well-being, and that effective climate action requires a two-pronged response–adaptation to manage the unavoidable, and mitigation to avoid the unmanageable.

The poorest countries and communities are likely to suffer the most from the effects of climate change because of their geographical location, low incomes and weak institutions, and their greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. IDA countries are the most vulnerable to risks associated with droughts, floods, coastal storms and changes in agricultural productivity. Adaptation to build up resilience to these risks is the most significant climate challenge facing these countries today. Support to IDA countries in creating climate-resilient poverty reduction and development paths has become an imperative in the IDA agenda.

Learn more: IDA at Work: Climate Change
[PDF, 9-page brief, July 2009]

Providing cash transfers to people affected by the floods that have devastated parts of Bangladesh, India, and Nepal is one of the most effective ways to help rebuilding lives and stimulate local markets, World Bank South Asia experts said today.

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