Overview

Capacity development, knowledge sharing, and innovation, in both policy and technical areas, are essential for climate change mitigation and adaptation.

The World Bank Institute (WBI) fosters knowledge sharing among regions to strengthen the capacity of client countries to respond to the challenges and opportunities that climate change and variability pose to their development.

Context

Leaders across the world are struggling with the everyday realities of climate change. The World Bank Group is committed to helping them find solutions, and the international community has pioneered mechanisms to mitigate and adapt to these challenges.

WBI supports knowledge-sharing among development practitioners to assist countries to move more quickly toward low-carbon development and climate resiliency.

WBI helps reduce the effects of climate change by gathering and disseminating cutting-edge knowledge through specialized activities and events. WBI also holds competitions to identify innovative approaches.

Strategy

The World Bank Group provides the financing and advice needed to help its developing member countries address the challenges of a changing climate.

One important example of how WBI supports the Bank's response is the Carbon Finance Assist (CF-Assist) program, which complements the World Bank's carbon finance work. CF-Assist provides training for developing countries and economies in transition to enable them to fully participate in the flexible mechanisms defined under the Kyoto Protocol (for example CDM - Clean Development Mechanism).

WBI organizes the annual Carbon Expo, as well as regional carbon forums.The theme of the 2009 Carbon Expo was "Cities and Climate Change" and the Expo featured related workshops and programs. CF-Assist has also developed a twinning program in which countries with specialized experiences can learn from each other about tools for climate change adaptation and mitigation.

WBI also manages the Development Marketplace competition. This year the competition focuses on climate adaptation.

Results

WBI's programs support thousands of people in developing and implementing policies, programs, and activities to mitigate and adapt to climate change. For example,

• In 2008-2009, CF-Assist trained more than 3,000 professionals in 20 countries. Since 2006, CF-Assist has worked in more than 60 countries and has helped identify over 300 carbon finance projects.
  
  
• At the Carbon Expo 2009, 276 exhibitors from 83 countries and more than 3,000 visitors from 111 countries attended the carbon market's leading global trade fair and conference for emissions trading, carbon abatement solutions, and new technologies.
  
  
• The 2009 Development Marketplace competition will award up to US$200,000 each in grant funding to 20 to 25 innovative, early-stage projects addressing climate adaptation, to be implemented over two years.

Featured Programs

CF-Assist
complements the World Bank's carbon finance work

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Featured Videos

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Featured Publications

Development Outreach
February 2008 issue on Climate Change (pdf file, 6.8 MB)

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