Climate Change Videos

B-SPAN is the webcasting service of the World Bank Group. Managed by the World Bank Institute, B-SPAN presents seminars, workshops, and conferences on sustainable development and poverty reduction issues via streaming video.

Please search "climate change" for a listing of all climate change events available on B-SPAN. Here is a selection of the most recent ones:

Climate Change Policy in the USA: What Can We Expect from the U.S. on the Road to Copenhagen? (April 16, 2009)

The World Bank Institute held the dialogue event “Climate Change Policy in the USA: What Can We Expect from the U.S. on the Road to Copenhagen?” The presentation featured keynote speaker Ned Helme, Founder and President of the Center for Clean Air Policy (CCAP). The event, chaired by the Konrad von Ritter of the World Bank Institute and Joelle Chassard of the World Bank's Environment Department, discussed the political context of international climate negotiations taking place within the United States. 

60 Minutes with Nobel Laureate Kenneth J. Arrow (March 27, 2008)

While climate change is one of the defining issues of our times, there is little consensus among economists on the impacts of climate change, and discounting and uncertainty are two key reasons why. During this session, hosted by the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, Kenneth Arrow, 1972 Nobel Laureate in Economics, and Professor Emeritus at Stanford University shared his views on discounting for projects that have payoffs in the deep and uncertain future. Thomas Schelling, 2005 Nobel Laureate in Economics, and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland provided commentary on Arrow’s presentation.

Climate Change, Growth, and Poverty (April 15, 2008)

The conference "Inclusive and Sustainable Growth" included more than 25 sessions on a variety of topics, such as the Bank’s economic policy, climate change, and good governance. The panel session and discussion on “Climate Change, Growth, and Poverty” was chaired by Ana Revenga, Director of Poverty Reduction and Development Effectiveness (PREM) at the World Bank. Panelists included Kevin Watkins, Director, Global Monitoring Report on Education, UNESCO; Joseph Aldy, Fellow, Resources for the Future, USA, Julia Martínez Fernández, Coordinator of the Climate Change Program, Instituto Nacional de Ecología, Mexico; and Antonio Estache, Professor at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, Belgium.

"Climate Change and Disasters – Risk and Policy," featured William Nordhaus’s research and recent book on climate change induced disasters and global warming policies. The session was moderated by Apurva Sanghi, Senior Economist for the World Bank. Nordhaus, Sterling Professor of Economics at Yale University, covered topics including integrated assessment modeling, carbon prices and the impacts of climate change. He also discussed the relationship between strength trends and the econometrics of damages of hurricanes. He also spoke about the economics of participation and the importance and calculating the cost of non-participation. Freeman Dyson, Professor Emeritus of Physics and the Institute of Advances Studies at Princeton, commented from the perspective of a scientist. Dyson discussed the effects of carbon dioxide on both the atmosphere and vegetation, explaining trends and issues with calculating predictions.