Tuesday, April 15, 2008, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Sponsor: PREM Poverty Reduction Group
Speakers:
Kevin Watkins (Director of the Human Development Report Office, Lead Author of Human Development Report 2007: Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided World)
Joseph Aldy (Fellow, Resources for the Future) Julia Martínez Fernández (Coordinator of the Climate Change Program, Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Mexico) Antonio Estache (World Bank)
Description: Climate change is not a discrete problem that can be dealt with through isolated technological reforms: impacting economic growth and stability, human health outcomes, environmental assets, and societies’ social fabric, it is a full frontal challenge to development. If decisive action is not taken, climate change could reverse countries’ hard-earned development gains and stymie progress towards achieving the MDGs. Although they have contributed far less to its sources, poor countries and communities will bear the brunt of climate change, which could promote poverty traps and growing inequalities between and within countries. Poor countries and communities are likely to bear the brunt of climate change, which could promote poverty traps and growing inequalities between and within countries. Poor households rely heavily on income from rainfed agriculture and natural resources, which will be increasingly at risk. In coastal and island countries prone to flooding, poor households are most likely to reside in low-lying areas and experience greater loss of housing, higher risks of disease and growing incentives to migrate from vulnerable areas. Climate change also has the potential to exacerbate pre-existing tensions over scarce resources, particularly where institutions and governance is weak. A growing frequency of extreme events particularly for households already living on the economic fringe may trap households in low-risk, low-return activities. A diverse panel of experts will highlight some of the economic, institutional, political and social challenges currently facing policymakers and development experts in building national development strategies to help address climate change. The following questions will be explored: How can we better track and evaluate the multi-dimensional impacts of climate change on the poor? What tools should we use? What data are needed? What are the challenges in mainstreaming climate change into existing poverty reduction and risk management strategies? How can we help governments to prioritize their actions? Given the huge externalities of adaptation and mitigation, what is the appropriate role of government and how can we devise mechanisms to motivate actions by private actors, including the poor? How can we help governments to build cross cutting political coalitions to support efforts to mitigate against and adapt to climate change? What are the priority operational and research areas for the Bank on climate change and poverty?
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