Reducing emissions and boosting resilience is possible, but requires major social, economic and technological changes. Listen to leaders from the public and private sectors, economists, policymakers, and activists as they look for solutions to help countries meet their development objectives. 

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Past Events

Transforming Transportation

Join us to discuss how we can mobilize finance for climate action, attract more investment for sustainable mobility, and harness the full development potential of transport.

How DFIs Can Foster Private Investment in Sustainable Infrastructure

Join us as we discuss key issues and barriers that hinder private sector participation in sustainable infrastructure and how Development Finance Institutions can help overcome them.

Scaling Global Clean Hydrogen Financing

What supportive policy frameworks and financial innovations are available to help deploy the technology more broadly? Live from COP28.

Adapting to Climate Change in Fragile and Conflict Settings

How to accelerate climate action and finance in contexts affected by fragility, conflict and violence (FCV)? The event will showcase experiences from activities in Chad, Mozambique and Yemen.

Fireside Chat with Ajay Banga and Kristalina Georgieva

Watch a fireside chat with World Bank Group President Ajay Banga and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva on their respective institutional goals going into COP28 in Dubai.

Connecting Climate and Development in Over 40 Countries

Come find out how the Bank’s flagship diagnostic – the Country Climate and Development Reports – connects climate and development priorities in over 40 countries. Join us live from COP28 in Dubai at the World Bank Group pavilion #LivablePlanet.

The Sustainable Heating Transition in Europe and Central Asia

The Europe and Central Asia region is plagued by an inefficient, aging, unaffordable, polluting heating sector that is not compatible with a livable planet. This heating sector stands in the way of these countries achieving their net-zero emissions targets by mid-century and improving the quality of life for their citizens.

Delivery on the Ground: Country Action for a Livable Planet

This World Bank-IMF event will explore innovative ways countries can deliver significant impacts that improve people’s quality of life, through policies that accelerate low-carbon and resilient growth to better draw in the private sector and attract more climate finance. 

Toward Faster, Cleaner Growth in South Asia

What are South Asia’s economic prospects and what type of challenges lie ahead? How can the region accelerate growth while creating greener firms and jobs?

Visualizing Progress: Data Insights from the SDG Atlas

The 2023 Atlas of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is a visual resource showcasing progress and setbacks in achieving the SDGs through interactive storytelling and data visualization. It provides decision-makers, the development community, academics, journalists, and the public with data insights for each of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and introduces concepts about how some SDGs are measured. At the midpoint of the 2030 Agenda, the insights of the Atlas reinforce the importance of strengthening global partnerships to tackle the formidable development challenges that lie ahead, and supplement efforts by partners.

Thriving: Making Cities Climate-Ready

New analysis from the World Bank examines the two-way relationship between cities and climate change, concluding that cities also hold the key to solving the climate crisis. With data from more than 10,000 cities, the report offers insight into how to help cities become greener, more resilient, and more inclusive – in other words, on how to help their cities thrive – in a changing climate. This session engaged prominent government officials including mayors and ministers as well as civil society to discuss the findings and recommendations from the report.

Africa: Harnessing Natural Resources for a Sustainable Future

Global efforts to decarbonize economies are likely to create demand for 3 million tons of minerals and metals – many of which are found in Africa. Thus, the continent has an opportunity to harness natural resource wealth to accelerate energy access and a green transition, drive economic transformation and jobs, and generate more fiscal revenues. Speakers focused on this opportunity and the related challenges facing policy makers.

Investing in Human Capital to Accelerate the Green Transition

Investing in human capital creates healthy and well-educated populations – education being the greatest predicator of climate-friendly behavior.

The Power of Private Capital in Sustainable Development

World Bank officials, David Malpass, Anshula Kant and Jorge Familiar, hosted a panel to discuss the evolving role of private capital investment in providing sustainable finance for countries to meet development goals. This is in light of the world's current challenges that go beyond the normal scope of economic development. COVID-19, the war in Ukraine, and other factors have left countries with high levels of debt, while climate concerns are mounting. To recoup development progress back to 2020 levels and adapt to climate change, trillions of dollars are needed.

Accelerating Development in an Age of Global Crisis

Join a prestigious panel of speakers to explore central questions around what it will take to address some of the most critical issues of our time including climate change, food insecurity, pandemics, and increasing fragility and poverty reduction. 

The Private Sector’s Role in Combating Climate Change in Water

The water sector has a broad footprint ranging from groundwater extraction, irrigation, hydro climatic risks, urban water and sanitation, and industrial usage. If we are to meet the SDG 6 of universal access to water and sanitation while also combating climate change, private sector financing and expertise needs to scale up. Hosted by IFC, this discussion at COP28 will lay out the way forward.

Thriving – Making Cities Green, Resilient and Inclusive in a Changing Climate

New analysis from the World Bank based on 10,000 cities across the globe provides a compass for policymakers at both the national and local levels on policy options for making cities greener, more resilient, and more inclusive in a changing climate. This session will engage prominent government officials including mayors and ministers as well as civil society to discuss the findings and recommendations from the report.

Financing transition to nature-smart economies

The panel will discuss investment opportunities in biodiversity finance and innovative business models to promote the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services.

Global SIDS: The Blue Economy and Climate Resilience

COP27 brings together SIDS representatives, the donor community, and the private sector. This High-Level Panel will bring together SIDS representatives from the Eastern Caribbean, Maldives and Palau providing an opportunity to discuss collective responsibility for ensuring the health and sustainability of the world’s oceans, and their vital role in future NDCs.

Hydrogen for Development Partnership Launch

This panel will launch the World Bank Group’s new Hydrogen for Development Partnership (H4D), an initiative to boost the deployment of low-carbon hydrogen in developing countries. 

Women and Girls are Key to Effective Climate Action

How to adopt an integrated approach to tackling gender equality and climate change? This event will present evidence and examples showing that supporting women’s empowerment and gender equality pays dividends, including for reaching climate goals. 

Accelerating Support to City Climate Action

Join IFC and World Bank for the launch of the APEX Green Cities Program, an innovative new approach that harnesses the insights from advanced green practices around the world to show what these practices mean for your city, based on your local context. This launch event will include an overview of the APEX (Advanced Practices for Environmental Excellence) initiative and testimonials from our partner cities Ekurhuleni, South Africa and Alexandria, Egypt. 

Delivering Climate Action While We Feed the World

Developing countries have the opportunity to simultaneously reduce emissions from agriculture, while supporting adaptation priorities. This event will discuss key initiatives and operations, in a synthesized way, for delivering climate mitigation action to sub-sectors such as livestock and rice and will showcase relevant Bank projects, while engaging the voices of client countries around key mitigation themes.

How to Build a Pipeline of Climate-Smart PPPs

How can governments translate their climate goals and commitments into viable, bankable projects? What are the challenges and opportunities that both governments and the private sector face? 

Just Transition Away from Coal

In this time of strained resources and overlapping crises, how can countries get the financing they need to tackle climate change? The event Investing in People and Planet explored this question in three conversations -- on the potential of carbon markets to mobilize finance; what it will take to bring private sector finance into low-carbon transitions; and the financing needed to achieve net zero.

Powering Africa and Promoting a Just Energy Transition

Achieving universal energy access and a just energy transition in Sub-Saharan Africa are closely intertwined. This session comprises representatives from the World Bank, African governments and development partners to discuss how public and private sector can work together to fast-track energy access in the region leveraging both on- and off-grid renewable energy.

Harnessing Education for Effective Climate Action

Education systems around the world face significant climate risks. At the same time, education is a hugely powerful but significantly under-utilized instrument to promote climate action. Three young activists, from Nigeria, Pakistan, and Peru, will deliver condensed TED-style talks, sharing their personal experience of how climate change is affecting education and how education can and must be a key part of the solution. 

Achieving Universal Energy Access and Climate Goals in Africa

IFC and IRENA will host an Energy Access event which aims to bring together Ministers from across the region and the heads of international organizations to share experiences and discuss the Energy Access agenda and propose a way forward to reach SG7 by 2030 through clean energy solutions.

Global Food Security Program (GFSP)

Increasing commodity prices and greater climate volatility are putting additional strains on food supply chains and increasing pressure on food producers to optimize their practices. IFC’s new $6 billion financing facility, the Global Food Security Platform, will provide financing to support immediate needs and build more climate- and shock-resilient food systems for the future. Our panelists will discuss private sector solutions to strengthen food security and innovations for climate-friendly production.

Catalyzing the Green Digital Transformation

Challenges and opportunities for low- and middle-income countries to reduce digital sector emissions and harness technologies for adaptation and mitigation.

Financing The Future: What Will It Take?

An inspiring AND practical conversation about climate finance with Lord Nicholas Stern, IG Patel Professor, London School of Economics, and Mr. Axel van Trotsenburg, Managing Director of Operations, World Bank. Together, they will break down the big numbers into more manageable pieces, identify sources of finance and prototypes to be scaled, and examine the critical role of concessionality in incentivizing the scale needed. This is a must-see for those who are serious about scaling climate finance. 

The Future of Climate Technologies in Africa 

The goal of the panel is to get insights from leading decision-makers regarding policy, financing, and real sector innovations.  

Launch of the Global Food & Nutrition Security Dashboard

The G7 Presidency and the World Bank developed a publicly accessible dashboard to share information on acute food security and responses.

A New Diagnostic Offering Big Insights

Be among the first to learn the big insights emerging from the WBG’s new transformative diagnostic, the Country Climate and Development Reports. Join some of the architects of this new report as they synthesize the key findings from around 25 countries and reveal their most interesting recommendations about how countries can reduce emissions while growing their economies. Learn also from developing countries about their experience with CCDRs and how they plan to use them. This is a must-see for those who care about climate and development.

Innovative Mobilization Platforms

This event will focus on the progress made to date on IFC’s mobilization platforms, including MCPP One Planet, SEED, and REGIO, as well as the next generation under development. 

Financing Energy Transitions in the Power Sector

How to scale up climate financing? Including how governments and their development partners can establish a pipeline of bankable projects that can attract private sector investments.

Blue Finance – Unlocking the Potential of the Blue Economy

The objective of this panel discussion is to explore the blue economy—how it is defined, what it encompasses, and what/where is driving the demand. 

COP27 Readout: Key Priorities for Impactful Climate Results

Join us as we kick off the World Bank Group’s engagements at COP27 with President David Malpass. The event will look at key priorities for reducing emissions, including supporting the just transition and boosting action on methane, innovative financing that can deliver resources at scale, and how countries can address their climate and development needs together.

Greening of the African Financial Sector

This interactive, high-level panel will share successful climate finance investment instruments in Africa’s private sector banks, while highlighting the important role regulators play in greening the financial sector. 

Accelerating Africa Energy Access with Distributed Renewable Energy

This panel will discuss the importance of accelerating investment in distributed energy solutions and how innovative risk mitigation solutions can unlock barriers to investment. Insights will be provided by project developers, investors, and governments, who will highlight how political risk solutions could help mitigate some of the key risks while improving the viability of projects and accelerating scale.

The Human Face of Climate Change

Human capital is essential for meeting the objectives of addressing climate change and fostering development. Without focused investments in people, climate change will accelerate global poverty, exacerbate inequities, and will itself continue unabated. Climate-smart human capital can alleviate the worst impacts of climate change on people and can also empower people to drive the green transition. Join us to discuss how putting human capital at the heart of climate policies can deliver good outcomes for both people and for the planet. 

Targeting Methane Emissions

Methane’s short term potency poses a serious climate challenge and methane emissions are on the rise. In this high-level event the World Bank Group, other MDBs and private investors showcased current efforts and plans to expand their focus on methane emissions over the next few years.

Let’s Get To Scale: Climate Finance for People and Planet

World Bank Group President Malpass introduces SCALE, the new partnership to catalyze transformative climate action.

Investing in People and Planet

In this time of strained resources and overlapping crises, how can countries get the financing they need to tackle climate change? The event Investing in People and Planet explored this question in three conversations -- on the potential of carbon markets to mobilize finance; what it will take to bring private sector finance into low-carbon transitions; and the financing needed to achieve net zero.

Youth Summit 2022: Unlocking the Power of Inclusion

This year’s theme is “Unlocking the Power of Inclusion for Equitable Growth”. Get ready for a two-day experience including pitch competition, case challenge, keynotes and plenaries, music, art and more!

Financing Climate Action

This event lays out the complexities of tackling climate and development objectives together amid a geopolitical landscape characterized by conflict, rising prices, and intensifying climate impacts. 

Greening Economies to Enable Transformative Change

This event will explore how a whole-of-economy approach can support a green recovery from COVID-19, create an enabling environment for ambitious climate action, and deliver on the outcomes of the Glasgow Compact from COP26. 

Reshaping Global Value Chains

The COVID-19 pandemic caused unprecedented disruptions to global trade and has sparked questions about the future of global value chains. New World Bank research, however, suggests that not only did value chains prove more resilient than earlier feared, but they also helped participating countries rebound more quickly from the crisis. Please join us on March 4 for an engaging discussion about the factors reshaping global value chains, and their implications for trade and development.

The Gap Fund: Helping Cities Early on to Turn Climate Plans and Pipelines Into Action

Leveraging climate finance at the scale and speed needed to address the climate crisis is a key global commitment. Within this, cities and urban systems will be critical for achieving a global green and inclusive transition. The event will present the City Climate Finance Gap Fund, a multilateral partnership involving the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and other partners.

Moving Cities to a Cleaner Future

This event highlights the various roles that cities can play in addressing climate change: as regulators, project sponsors, fundraisers of capital, overseers of multi-connected systems, and as partners with the private sector, leveraging their relationship for green standards, innovation, technical expertise, and green finance.

Law, Justice and Development Week 2021

The World Bank recognizes the innate value of racial equity in global efforts to eradicate poverty and create opportunities that boost prosperity for all. By enabling all persons to realize their full potential regardless of race, racial equity enhances benefits for society as a whole and aids the attainment of long-term development objectives and the reduction of poverty.

Climate-Smart Mobility: Where to Invest?

We cannot win the fight against climate change without taking on the rapidly growing emissions from the transport sector. But even though many of the necessary tools and technologies already exist, market uptake and financing remain low. Building on the ongoing Transport Decarbonization Investment series, this event will bring together a wide range of leaders who will explore concrete solutions for boosting innovation and investment toward low-carbon transport.

Practical Tools for implementing Climate Targets

This virtual conversation, part of a series between World Bank senior management and global leaders in addressing climate change, will showcase how the World Bank is helping policymakers assess climate change risks and evaluate the effectiveness of a mix of policies and investments aimed at mitigating this pressing global Climate challenge.

Scaling Investment in Climate-Smart Agriculture Technologies in Africa

The session will examine lessons learned from piloting CSA investment plans and how these plans can be scaled up through effective policies, context-specific technologies, and innovative financing for successful agricultural systems transformation.

Locally Led Climate Action in Kenya

Join us for the global launch of the Financing Locally Led Climate Action Program (FLLoCA), the first national model of devolved climate finance, which supports partnerships between government and citizens to identify and invest in solutions to address climate change.

The Value of Nature to People and Planet

Joins us to discuss how nature loss is an economic and development issue, and how it is linked to climate change, as well as pathways to undertake both nature and climate-smart development in the future, including through expanding our economic toolkit beyond GDP to account for the wealth provided by nature.

The Power to Transform: Leveraging Sustainable Finance for the Energy Transition

Joins us to discuss how nature loss is an economic and development issue, and how it is linked to climate change, as well as pathways to undertake both nature and climate-smart development in the future, including through expanding our economic toolkit beyond GDP to account for the wealth provided by nature.

Mainstreaming Green Finance: From ‘Not Yet’ to ‘Net Zero’

A day after COP26’s dedicated day for finance, WBG is hosting this fireside chat with Banque de France (BdF), the secretariat of NGFS, to explore these issues further and discuss how the financial sector can contribute to countries’, particularly EMDEs’, climate and development goals.

Tailoring Roadmaps for Energy Transition and Energy Access

As developing countries create their own path, ESMAP, with its donor partners and partner organizations, is supporting them in thinking through their energy transition and energy access roadmaps.

Green Recovery Dialogue: Fiscal Innovations

Join us as we examine how innovative macro-fiscal and governance-related interventions can enable a green recovery and facilitate a ‘whole-of-economy’ approach to long-term climate action.

Supporting Countries to Integrate Climate and Development

Join a chat with Axel van Trotsenburg, World Bank Managing Director of Operations, and global climate leaders on how integrating climate and development can boost a country's resilience strategy.

Scaling Finance for Transformational Climate Projects

Join a conversation with World Bank Group President David Malpass and Standard Chartered CEO Bill Winters.

The State of the Africa Region

This event will provide an update on the macroeconomic situation in African countries and investigate the central question that many are currently facing: How to keep ensuring a growth and jobs focus in the context of climate change adaptation in Africa? 

Making Climate Action Count: Turning Ambition Into Reality

How can countries decarbonize energy systems and get off coal, ensuring a just transition out of high polluting industries? Join us on a journey of effective climate action around the globe to find out.

Breathing Uneasy: Regional Response to Air Pollution in South Asia

South Asia is at the epicenter of ambient air pollution—pollution people are exposed to outside their households. According to the latest World Air Quality Report, 2020, of the top 40 most polluted cities in the world, 37 are in South Asia. Air pollution in the region is a health hazard and represents the third-highest risk for premature death, as compared to the ninth highest cause in Western Europe. Overall, it contributes to around 11 percent of all deaths, and approximately 40 million disability-adjusted life years in South Asia. Air pollution, however, is not a localized phenomenon. It is transported across borders, and its effects spread to places far away from the source. This requires a country-wide, inter-state, and a regional response. Join our sixth #OneSouthAsia Conversation, which will focus on the ways regional cooperation can help achieve a shared vision of healthier and cleaner air in South Asia. This builds on our previous Spring Meetings event on Air Quality Management in South Asia in ...

Taking on Transport Emissions

What are the responsibilities of developed and developing countries in regulating the global trade of used cars, trucks, and buses? How can we ensure these vehicles meet acceptable environmental and safety standards? These are some of the key questions that the World Bank, the government of the Netherlands, and the United Nations, and other key development partners will be taking on as they mark the launch the new Transport Decarbonization Investment series. 

Protecting the Himalayan Glaciers

The mountain ranges of the Himalayas, the Hindu Kush, and the Karakoram span 2,400 kilometers across six nations and contain 60,000 km² of ice – storing more water than anywhere besides the Arctic and Antarctic. Climate change and air pollution are speeding up the melting of the Himalayan glaciers, jeopardizing the lives and livelihoods of 750 million people who rely on the water from these glaciers and snows. Melting glaciers and loss of seasonal snow pose significant risks not just to the people who live at their foot but to the stability of water resources in the South Asia region more broadly. The impacts will only get worse unless greater efforts are made to curb black carbon deposits from factories, fires, and vehicles that are accelerating melting. Our expert panel will discuss challenges and solutions to address glacier melt, improve water and energy security, and air quality, and thus create a better future for millions of South Asians. Opening Remarks: Hartwig Schafer, Vice President, ...

Charting a Course for Decarbonizing Maritime Transport

Maritime transport has come under increased pressure to lower, and ultimately eliminate, its contributions to climate change. To inform shipping’s energy transition and support the sector’s climate action, the World Bank has developed two technical reports on “The Potential of Zero-Carbon Bunker Fuels in Developing Countries” and “The Role of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the Transition Toward Low-and Zero-Carbon Shipping.” Accompanied by a “Summary for Policymakers and Industry”, these reports will be launched in a virtual high-level event during Singapore Maritime Week 2021. This 90 minutes’ launch event will discuss the key findings of the reports from a development perspective. It will also highlight current country ambitions and industry initiatives aimed at building up a zero-carbon bunker fuel supply chain based on green ammonia and green hydrogen.  After opening remarks by Nigel Topping, High-Level Climate Action Champion COP26, the authors will present the key conclusions of the research. This presentation will be followed by two panels featuring speakers like ...

Key Green Transitions for People and Planet

Record-breaking wildfires, droughts, floods and hurricanes have taken lives, damaged homes, hospitals and businesses. Meanwhile, COVID-19 took a heavy health and economic toll and pushed millions into extreme poverty. How can we change course?

How Can We Turn Climate Goals into Climate Action?

How is the pandemic changing our ambitions around a greener future? What does real progress look like on tackling climate change? These are some of the questions we'll be asking Marc Sadler, Practice Manager of the Climate Funds Management unit at the World Bank.  Join us for the live conversation on February 18th. Be sure to sign up for an email reminder! The Resilient Recovery Series includes in-depth interviews with the Bank’s leading experts focused on health, social, and economic responses, as well as policies, institutions, and investments that will be critical to resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery. Check out the previous episodes!         View this post on Instagram                       A post shared by World Bank (@worldbank)

How National Climate Ambition Can Shape a Sustainable Recovery

As countries respond to the immediate health concerns of the COVID-19 pandemic, they will also need to focus on stimulus packages to stem its severe economic impact. As they do so, they have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set a foundation for a more sustainable and prosperous future. Ahead of the 5 year anniversary of the Paris Agreement, the World Bank is hosting a virtual event to  highlight why greening the response to the pandemic is critical and how we will support clients to do so. The event will include the launch of a new multi-donor trust fund to support countries accelerate efforts towards a low-carbon, climate-resilient recovery.

Climate Finance for a Sustainable Future

The COVID-19 pandemic is reshaping the world’s financial system and having a huge impact on companies and employment. As many countries begin to look to recovery,  investment in climate-friendly strategies carries the potential to boost growth and create new jobs. How can we place sustainability at the heart of investment and business strategies and support a low-carbon future? It’s a business plan that’s not only positive for the environment, but also good for people and profitability.  Peer Stein, Senior Advisor for Climate Finance at the International Finance Corporation joins World Bank Live to discuss the role of investors, businesses and financial institutions in building a new, more sustainable economic model.  The Resilient Recovery Series includes in-depth interviews with the Bank’s leading experts focused on health, social, and economic responses, as well as policies, institutions, and investments that will be critical to resilient, inclusive, and sustainable recovery. Check out the previous episodes!

Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition: Realizing the Full Potential of Carbon Pricing in a Sustainable Recovery

Part of ‘Kickstarting a Sustainable Recovery’, the Climate Group’s Sustainable Recovery Series, in partnership with Innovate4Climate.  Monumental efforts are underway to help governments respond to the crisis triggered by COVID-19. As countries look ahead on how to build back better, carbon pricing policies are in the spotlight. The Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition, in partnership with the Coalition of Finance Ministers for Climate Action, is convening thought leaders for a dialogue exploring how the public and private sector can realize the full potential of carbon pricing as part of a sustainable recovery process.  Agenda Introductory remarks: Mari Elka Pangestu, Managing Director of Development, Policy and Partnerships, World Bank High level comments: Tao Zhang, Deputy Managing Director, IMF José Ángel Gurría Treviño, Secretary General, OECD   Juan Carlos Jobet, Minister of Energy, Chile Leadership Panel 1Moderated by Bernice Van Bronkhorst, Global Director, Climate Change, World Bank How can we achieve a sustainable recovery process in the face of climate ...

The Global Commission on Adaptation: Report Launch and Discussion

Adapt Now: A Global Call for Leadership on Climate Resilience, the flagship report of the Global Commission on Adaptation launches globally on September 10, 2019. Join us for the launch event in Washington, DC, and find out how adaptation is a cornerstone of better development that can help improve lives, reduce poverty, protect the environment, and enhance resilience around the world.

Future Pasifika Healthy Oceans

Healthy oceans are vital to the prosperity of Pacific communities and the global ecosystem, yet are facing an unprecedented crisis with issues of over-fishing, marine pollution and coastal erosion exacerbated by climate change. This inaugural Future Pasifika panel will bring together some of the most passionate voices in our Pacific community – thought leaders, activists, businesspeople and youth leaders – to tackle this critical issue. Cohosted by the University of the South Pacific (USP), the World Bank and its sister organization the International Finance Corporation, Future Pasifika is filmed in front of a live audience at the USP Laucala Bay Campus in Suva, Fiji, and livestreamed across the university’s Pacific campuses.

Innovate4Climate

Innovate4Climate is the preeminent global event on climate finance, climate investment and climate markets. It is a platform that brings together business, finance, policy and technology leaders to accelerate action on financing climate-smart development. In 2019, I4C will focus on green finance, clean cooling, battery storage, climate-smart urban design, Asian climate markets and much more.    To view the full program and list of panelists, please click here.

Building a Climate-Resilient South Asia

Eight hundred million South Asians– or half the region’s population—are at risk to see their standards of living and incomes decline as rising temperatures and more erratic rainfalls will cut down crop yields, make water more scare, and push more people away from their homes to seek safer places. This worst-case scenario and relevant adaptation strategies to climate change underpin the upcoming report South Asia’s Hotspots, whose main findings were presented yesterday at a panel on building climate change resilience in South Asia at the World Bank Spring Meetings. Its main author, World Bank Lead Economist Muthukumara Mani detailed how specific geographic areas across South Asia or “hotspots” which –until now—were relatively immune to climate change threats could be badly affected by 2050. To build resilience, the report recommends that South Asian countries better prioritize their financial resources where they’re most needed and target the most vulnerable individuals and families.  Following the presentation, government, civil society, ...

Protecting Latin America and the Caribbean’s Future Against Climate Risks

Risk management is fundamental for Latin America and the Caribbean. Incidents of natural disasters have tripled since 1970 and with climate change, their intensity and the frequency are going to increase. But natural disasters are not the only risk these countries face. Economic shocks and abrupt swings in commodity prices can also have a devastating effect in the population, especially on the most vulnerable. In Thursday’s conversation on Protecting Latin America and the Caribbean’s Future Against Risks, Jorge Familiar, World Bank Vice President for Latin America and the Caribbean was joined by a panel of leading financial experts and policymakers including Jane Fraser, CEO of Citigroup Latin America; Paraguay Minister of Finance Lea Giménez; Chief Executive of the State Development Bank of Brazil BNDES, Dyogo Henrique de Oliveira; President of Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission CNBV, Bernardo Gonzalez; and the Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank, Timothy Antoine. During the discussion, panelists agreed that the ...

Spring Meetings 2018 Global Voices Interview Series: Opening Show

Watch the replay! Talking about global development can be fun – and informative!  Join us on Facebook Tuesday, April 17, for a one-hour live show exploring the power of technology to solve problems, some of the reasons behind the gender divide, and why 2050 isn’t that far away when you’re talking about climate change.   Our World Bank Live show will be filled with creative and inspiring content including the educational, data-oriented Geek Out with Tariq. Guests Speakers:Shomik Mehndiratta, Practice Manager, Transport and Digital Development Rita Ramalho, Senior Manager, Development Economics Marianne Fay, Chief Economist, Sustainable Development Network Featuring:Tariq Khokhar, Senior Data Scientist Hosted by:Pabsy Pabalan Mariano, Digital Engagement Officer Andy Shuai Liu, Online Communications Officer

Fixing Pollution: A Winning Formula for Health and Wealth

Pollution is one of the biggest development challenges facing us today. In 2015, more than 9 million premature deaths were caused by pollution, according to the Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health. Learn more from the Commissioners of the Lancet’s new report and join an engaging conversation on what is being done to address the health effects of pollution, including by the World Bank. Visit Our Partners:  

Interview with Timothy Antoine

What will it take for the small island states of the Caribbean to become more resilient and sustainable following the recent hurricanes? Join us live on October 13 at 5:00 pm, as we discuss this and other topics with Timothy Antoine, Governor of the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank.

Unlocking Financing for Climate Action

Join World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim in a panel discussion on mobilizing the trillions of dollars in private and public investment needed to ensure the world meets the goals of the Paris Agreement. This high-level event brings together climate change leaders, government ministers, philanthropists, and private sector executives to focus on what’s already happening, how far we have to go and what a climate-resilient, low-carbon future could look like. 

Innovating to Meet the Climate Challenge

To deliver on the Paris Agreement on climate change reached in December 2015, the world needs action and investment on an unprecedented scale.  Getting there requires innovation – in technology, policy, entrepreneurship and financing. Breakthroughs are happening on all these fronts, driven by the private sector, international organizations, civil society and forward-looking governments. The World Bank Group and Responding to Climate Change Limited (RTCC) are proud to host ‘Innovating to Meet the Climate Challenge,’ a half-day event looking at emerging innovations and the new opportunities they bring.

Turning the Paris Climate Agreement into Action

The world must move quickly to fulfill the promise of the climate change agreement reached in Paris four months ago and accelerate low-carbon growth, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said on the opening day of the Spring Meetings. More than 190 countries came together last December to pledge to do their part to halt global warming. The result was an unprecedented agreement to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times, with the goal of limiting warming to 1.5° C. With the formal signing of the Paris Agreement just a week away, it’s time to seize the moment and make the financial argument for a shift to renewables, Kim said. “This is an absolutely critical issue. We have to move now, because the real losers will be every single one of our children and grandchildren,” said Kim. He spoke at a livestreamed event, Turning the Paris Agreement into Action, with Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change Catherine ...

Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty

Climate change is an acute threat to poverty reduction. This new World Bank Group Report "Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty" finds that without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, there could be more than 100 million additional people in poverty by 2030.  At the same time, immediate emission reduction efforts and pro-poor climate mitigation policies are needed to prevent even worse long-term impacts. This event will present the results of this report and discuss its implications heading towards the international climate conference in Paris.

Today to 2030

"Today to 2030" brings together a cross section of global leaders and influencers to look at the partnerships, financing, creativity and citizen action needed to end extreme poverty, boost shared prosperity and address climate change. This event comes at a critical time for our people and the planet, falling less than two weeks after the UN Global Goals are ratified and shortly before the COP climate negotiations in Paris. It will be a key moment to build momentum and energize the global community to take the actions needed over the next 15 years to meet these ambitious goals.

Future of Food: A Conversation about Shaping a Climate-Smart Food System

Droughts, floods and rising temperatures are cutting crop yields, threatening food supply and pushing people deeper into poverty. With climate change affecting food production, how will we feed 9 billion people by 2050? The World Bank Group is continuing the conversation on the “Future of Food” to explore ways in which the food system can become climate-smart. What climate-smart practices can farmers adopt to boost productivity and resilience while reducing emissions? What roles can chefs, food processors and researchers in gastronomy play in tackling climate change? How can we prioritize investments in climate-smart agriculture? Hear from celebrated Peruvian chef Gaston Acurio, Jim Yong Kim, and others on the different ways we can work together to shape a climate-smart food system that can feed the world.

Futuro da alimentação: Uma conversa sobre a formação de um sistema resistente ao clima

Secas, inundações e temperaturas em elevação estão reduzindo as safras, ameaçando o fornecimento de alimentos e levando as pessoas para a pobreza. Ante uma mudança do clima que afeta a produção de comida, como alimentaremos 9 bilhões de pessoas até 2050? O Grupo Banco Mundial realiza o diálogo “Futuro dos Alimentos”, para analisar formas de tornar o sistema alimentar resistente às mudanças climáticas. Que práticas os agricultores podem adotar para aumentar a produtividade e a resiliência, reduzindo ao mesmo tempo as emissões de carbono? Que papel os chefs, processadores de alimentos e pesquisadores de gastronomia desempenham no enfrentamento das mudanças climáticas?  Como podemos priorizar investimentos em agricultura inteligente? Veja o famoso chef peruano Gaston Acurio, o presidente do Banco Mundial, Jim Yong Kim, e outros convidados falando sobre diferentes formas de trabalhar em conjunto para formar um sistema que ao mesmo tempo seja resistente ao clima e ...

Land Governance and Climate-Smart Agriculture

Evidence-based policies that promote secure access to land (including for women), and strengthening poor farmers’ ability to tackle climate change and improve productivity are urgently needed. Yet, in many cases, translating far-reaching legal changes into country strategies and progress on the ground has been a challenge. Panelists will discuss ways to better integrate land and climate-smart agriculture into countries’ development strategies and explore how these can help to build capacity to mainstream these issues in national policy dialogue, projects and private sector strategies.

Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet

If you had a 10% chance of having a fatal car accident, you'd take necessary precautions. If your finances had a 10% chance of suffering a severe loss, you'd reevaluate your assets. So if we know the world is warming and there's a 10% chance this might eventually lead to a catastrophe beyond anything we could imagine, why aren't we doing more about climate change right now? We insure our lives against an uncertain future—why not our planet? In "Climate Shock", Gernot Wagner and Martin Weitzman explore in lively, clear terms the likely repercussions of a hotter planet, drawing on and expanding from work previously unavailable to general audiences.

Climate Change, Energy and Poverty

Climate change and development are tightly interconnected. In this event, Keywan Riahi, who was involved in creating the development-energy-environment scenarios used by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, talks with World Bank Chief Economist for Climate Change Marianne Fay and colleagues about the ways development and greenhouse gas emissions interact and how different development patterns can lead to different environmental outcomes.  Riahi's work has explored ways of eradicating poverty without increasing greenhouse gas emissions, showing that poverty eradication and universal energy access is compatible with the internationally agreed upon target of keeping global warming under 2°C.