1. Despite commitments so far for cutting emissions, the world still needs to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change.
2. Providing financing for adaptation is a priority for us.
3. The World Bank works with countries to assess risks from climate and design policies.
4. We are focusing on knowledge products that give better access to data on climate change for policy-makers.

1. Despite commitments so far for cutting emissions, the world still needs to adapt to the unavoidable impacts of climate change

• Climate change and increased variability are already affecting many development sectors –agriculture, water, health, and infrastructure – and will continue to do so in the coming decades.
• Adaptation is at the centre of the World Bank’s support to developing countries as it is critical to sustaining and furthering development gains in these countries.
   
• Poorer nations and communities are likely to suffer the most as they often are dependent on climate sensitive activities, located in drier and warmer or coastal areas and have limited institutional and financial capacity.
• Despite being widely agreed upon as an important threshold that should not be crossed in order to avoid dangerous consequences, it now looks increasingly likely that the world might miss the 2 degree C target.
• Research is indicating that there is a significantly higher probability of tipping elements in the Earth system being activated, with cascading effects around the world. Instead of incremental change, such (non-linear) dynamics could be disruptive in nature and inherently difficult to predict.
• Adaptation is at the centre of the World Bank’s support to developing countries as it is critical to sustaining and furthering development gains in these countries.
• It will cost an estimated $70-$100 billion per year through 2050 for developing countries to adapt, according to a World Bank study Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change (EACC).

2. Providing financing for adaptation is a priority for us.

• Programs range from adaptation in arid and semi-arid lands in Kenya, Yemen, and India to dealing with the impact of rapid glacier retreat in the Andes. These programs integrate a menu of financing options available from several sources, such as IDA, IBRD, GEF, the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), the Adaptation Fund, the Climate Investment Fund (particularly Pilot Program for Climate Resilience and Forest Investment Program) and bi-lateral co-financing
• Finance from the International Development Association (IDA)—our fund for the poorest countries—to climate-affected sectors like agriculture, flood protection, water supply, and health has been increasing every year. Under the current (16th) replenishment, a special theme on ‘achieving climate resilient development’ was included. There has been a significant increase in support for climate action in IDA lending portfolios in the last couple of years. In the Financial Year 2012, IDA lending commitments with adaptation co-benefits grew to $2.3 billion (up 61% from 2011). At 16% in 2012, the share of adaptation financing in IDA lending nearly doubled from 9% in 2011.
• The Pilot Program for Climate Resilience, a dedicated fund of almost $1 Billion for adaptation under the Climate Investment Funds, is working with nine country pilots and two regional pilot programs in the Caribbean and South Pacific with the World Bank, and the other Multi-lateral Development Banks. This fund gives priority to highly vulnerable least developed countries, and provides grants and optional near zero interest concessional loans for a range of activities, including improving agricultural practices and food security, building climate-resilient water and housing, and improved weather data monitoring. As of August 2012, 17 countries have had their Investment Plans (termed Strategic Programs for Climate Resilience) endorsed by the PPCR Sub-Committee for a total amount of US$856 million to be implemented through the various MDBs.
• The Forest Investment Program (FIP) is designed to provide fast track finance for developing countries’ Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD) readiness efforts by investing in the underlying causes of deforestation and forest degradation and support adaptation based mitigation. The FIP allocated US$146 M to fund World Bank implemented investment operations.
• The Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery includes climate adaptation as an integral part of its work. We are the world’s largest source of finance for disaster risk reduction and reconstruction. Since 2007, the Bank has lent $9.2 billion through 215 post-disaster recovery projects in eight focus countries (Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Malawi, Mozambique, Senegal and Togo).
• Given that the estimated number of people exposed to storms and earthquakes in large cities could double to 1.5 billion by 2050 (pdf), as part of a comprehensive disaster risk management strategy, the World Bank has two instruments on catastrophe risk financing (pdf) that provide the much-needed financing when a disaster strikes.
• Nevertheless there are huge gaps in adaptation financing, and a need for the funds to flow to the most vulnerable of our clients
• Nevertheless there are huge gaps in adaptation financing, and a need for the funds to flow to the most vulnerable of our clients.

3. The World Bank works with countries to assess risks from climate and design policies

• Countries need support to re-orient their development plans so that climate change is factored into their planning process. For example, the Government of Vietnam has sought support from the Bank, through a series of Development Policy Options, to respond to the challenges of climate change and the opportunity to shift to sustainable, low carbon growth. In Indonesia, a Development Policy Loan promotes a low-carbon growth path for the economy.
• The World Bank has strengthened operational links between climate adaptation and disaster risk management, working closely with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). Disasters are an entry point for dialogue with countries on building resilience for future long-term risks posed by climate change.
• The World Bank has strengthened operational links between climate adaptation and disaster risk management, working closely with the Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR). Disasters are an entry point for dialogue with countries on building resilience to future long-term risks posed by climate change.
• There are increasing efforts to ensure synergies between adaptation and mitigation when designing and planning climate actions. Examples include work on climate smart agriculture where the focus is on a triple-win: carbon sequestration, food security and climate resilient livelihoods; or water efficiency measures in urban municipalities which reduce energy consumption and emissions from water pumping and distribution.
• Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change. Since water is an area that will be most stressed, the World Bank is working on a real-time, comprehensive Hydro-met Monitoring and Forecasting System. For river basins like Niger and Zambezi, there is a need for ongoing work on climate resilience assessments.

4. We are focusing on knowledge products that give better access to data on climate change for policy-makers.

• The Climate Knowledge Portal is a gateway to the most comprehensive source of quality climate information, knowledge and analysis tools on climate change.
• The World Bank is continuing to develop screening tools for its programs and projects in climate-sensitive sectors like energy, urban, agriculture and water for climate change concerns.