The Economics Of Climate Resilient Development

Some climate change is now inevitable and strategies to adapt to these changes are quickly developing. The question is particularly paramount for low-income countries, which are likely to be most affected. This timely and unique book takes an integrated look at the twin challenges of climate change and development. The book treats adaptation to climate change as an issue of climate-resilient development, rather than as a bespoke set of activities (flood defences, drought plans, and so on), combining climate and development challenges into a single strategy. It asks how the standard approaches to development need to change, and what socio-economic trends and urbanisation mean for the vulnerability of developing countries to climate risks. Combining conceptual thinking with practical policy prescriptions and experience the contributors argue that, to address these questions, climate risk has to be embedded fully into wider development strategies

The concept of resilience currently infuses policy debates and public discourse, and is promoted as a normative concept in climate policy making by governments, non-governmental organizations, and think-tanks. This book critically discusses climate-resilient development in the context of current deficiencies of multilateral climate management strategies and processes. It analyses innovative climate policy options at national, (inter-)regional, and local levels from a mainly Southern perspective, thus contributing to the topical debate on alternative climate governance and resilient development models. Case studies from Africa, Asia, and Latin America give a ground-level view of how ideas from resilience could be used to inform and guide more radical development and particularly how these ideas might help to rethink the notion of 'progress' in the light of environmental, social, economic, and cultural changes at multiple scales, from local to global. It integrates theory and practice with the aim of providing practical solutions to improve, complement, or, where necessary, reasonably bypass the UNFCCC process through a bottom-up approach which can effectively tap unused climate-resilient development potentials at the local, national, and regional levels. This innovative book gives students and researchers in environmental and development studies as well as policy makers and practitioners a valuable analysis of climate change mitigation and adaptation options in the absence of effective multilateral provisions.

Climate change will have a profound impact on human and natural systems, and will also impede economic growth and sustainable development. In this book, leading experts from around the world discuss the challenges and opportunities in building a climate resilient economy and society. The chapters are organised in three sections. The first part explores vulnerability, adaptation and resilience, whilst Part II examines climate resilience-sectoral perspectives covering different sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, marine ecosystems, cities and urban infrastructure, drought prone areas, and renewable energy. In the final part, the authors look at Incentives, institutions and policy, including topics such as carbon pricing, REDD plus, climate finance, the role of institutions and communities, and climate policies. Combining a global focus with detailed case studies of a cross section of regions, countries and sectors, this book will prove to be an invaluable resource.

Over the last decade, policies and financing decisions aiming to support low carbon resilient development within the least developed countries have been implemented across several regions. Some governments are steered by international frameworks, such as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), while others take their own approach to planning and implementing climate resilient actions. Within these diverse approaches however, there are unspoken assumptions and normative assessments of what the solutions to climate change are, who the most appropriate actors are and who should benefit from these actions. This book examines the political economy dynamics or the underlying values, knowledge, discourses, resources and power relationships behind decisions that support low carbon resilient development in the least developed countries. While much has been written on the politics of climate change, this book will focus on the political economy of national planning and the ways in which the least developed countries are moving from climate resilient planning to implementation. The book will use empirical evidence of low carbon resilient development planning in four countries: Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Rwanda and Nepal. Different approaches to low carbon resilience are critically analysed based on detailed analysis of key policy areas. This book will be of great interest to policy makers, practitioners’ students and scholars of climate change and sustainable development.

"Managing climate change requires action on both its causes (reducing emissions) and its consequences (adapting to impacts that can no longer be avoided). Human societies can thrive in many climatic conditions. However, such adaptation is not necessarily smooth, and it cannot be taken for granted. This book synthesises the contribution of economics to the study and practice of climate resilience and adaptation. Including an original introduction by the editor, it brings together in one volume some of the most influential articles by economists on climate change adaptation since the topic became a subject of academic interest"--

If not addressed in time, climate change is expected to exacerbate Nigeria’s current vulnerability to weather swings and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20:2020 [as defined in http://www.npc.gov.ng /home/doc.aspx?mCatID=68253]. The likely impacts include: • A long-term reduction in crop yields of 20–30 percent • Declining productivity of livestock, with adverse consequences on livelihoods • Increase in food imports (up to 40 percent for rice long term) • Worsening prospects for food security, particularly in the north and the southwest • A long-term decline in GDP of up to 4.5 percent The impacts may be worse if the economy diversifies away from agriculture more slowly than Vision 20:2020 anticipates, or if there is too little irrigation to counter the effects of rising temperatures on rain-fed yields. Equally important, investment decisions made on the basis of historical climate may be wrong: projects ignoring climate change might be either under- or over-designed, with losses (in terms of excess capital costs or foregone revenues) of 20–40 percent of initial capital in the case of irrigation or hydropower. Fortunately, there is a range of technological and management options that make sense, both to better handle current climate variability and to build resilience against a harsher climate: • By 2020 sustainable land management practices applied to 1 million hectares can offset most of the expected shorter-term yield decline; gradual extension of these practices to 50 percent of cropland, possibly combined with extra irrigation, can also counter-balance longer-term climate change impacts. • Climate-smart planning and design of irrigation and hydropower can more than halve the risks and related costs of making the wrong investment decision. The Federal Government could consider 10 short-term priority responses to build resilience to both current climate variability and future change through actions to improve climate governance across sectors, research and extension in agriculture, hydro-meteorological systems; integration of climate factors into the design of irrigation and hydropower projects, and mainstreaming climate concerns into priority programs, such as the Agriculture Transformation Agenda.

If not addressed in time, climate change is expected to exacerbate Nigeria's current vulnerability to weather swings and limit its ability to achieve and sustain the objectives of Vision 20: 2020. But there is a lot that can be done, starting now, to avoid such a damaging outcome. This is the overarching message of Toward Climate-Resilient Development in Nigeria. The likely impacts of climate change include the following: - Long-term reduction in crop yields of 20-30 percent - Declining productivity of livestock, with adverse consequences on livelihoods and pastoralism - Large increases in food imports - Worsening prospects for food security, particularly in the north and the southwest - Long-term decline in GDP of up to 4.5 percent The impacts may be worse if economic diversification away from agriculture happens more slowly than anticipated by Vision 20: 2020, or if there is too little irrigation to counter the effects of rising temperatures on rain-fed agriculture. Equally important, the study argues that investment decisions made on the basis of historical climate data may end up being wrong: projects that ignore climate change may be under- or over-designed, with economic losses of 20-40 percent of capital invested in irrigation or hydropower projects. For the past two years, the Federal Government of Nigeria and the World Bank have collaborated to analyze the specific challenges posed by climate change in agriculture and water resources management, with a view to identifying viable solutions for adaptation. This effort has brought together participants from government, academia, the private sector, and civil society. Toward Climate-Resilient Development in Nigeria spells out the technological and management options available to Nigeria for achieving climate resilience. In particular, the book explores--a first not just for Nigeria but also for Sub-Saharan Africa--the application of a robust decision-making approach to enhance the resilience of key sectors such as irrigation and hydropower. The study proposes 10 practical, short-term priority actions, as well as complementary longer-term initiatives, that could help to mitigate the threat posed by climate change. Building climate resilience will increasingly be central to Nigeria's efforts to achieve the aspirational goals the nation has set for itself in the Vision 20: 2020 documents. This study provides practical, evidence-based solutions to inform and nurture the debate and inform policy making for sustainable national development.

Amsalu Woldie Yalew attempts to address the direct and indirect economic effects of climate change, adaptation costs, and adaptation finance in developing countries with emphasis to Ethiopia using a static computable general equilibrium (CGE) model coupled with a regional module. The results show that the economy-wide effects of climate change are profound. Planned public adaptation that aims to fully neutralize climate change-induced agricultural productivity shocks may help to avert the aggregate effects but with residual effects. The results also indicate that structural change underpins climate-resilient development as it contributes to dampen the adverse consequences of climate change on aggregate GDP and households’ welfare.