climate adaptation & water management

According to the OECD, climate change is expected to disproportionately affect developing countries, especially the Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, and poor and vulnerable people within those countries. In some countries and sectors, the impacts of climate change are already being felt and responses are urgently needed. Climate change will exacerbate impacts such as droughts, floods, extreme weather events and sea level rise, which may contribute to food shortages, infrastructure damage and the degradation of natural resources upon which livelihoods are based.

A quick intro

Building flood resilience

Climate change risks will need to be considered systematically in development planning at all levels in order to build in adaptation measures. There is an urgent need to work with Ministries of Planning and Finance in partner countries to integrate climate change considerations into National Development Plans including Poverty Reduction Strategies (PRSs), joint assistance strategies as well as associated programmes and projects in order to enhance climate resilience. The negative impacts of climate change will disproportionately hit poor people and poor countries. For example, climate change is expected to bring greater water stress and scarcity and will pose a real threat to food security in many countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to UNEP, almost three-quarters of nations have some adaptation plans in place, but financing and implementation fall far short of what is needed. The annual adaptation costs in developing countries are estimated at USD 70 billion. This figure is expected to reach USD 140-300 billion in 2030 and USD 280-500 billion in 2050.