Bangladesh Climate Change Resilience Fund (BCCRF) is a multi-donor trust fund for climate change. The featured article in this issue of the newsletter, Bangladesh: the emerging hot spot where climate threats and action meet, explores a June 2013 World Bank report, Turn Down the Heat: Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience.
... See More + This newsletter also inlcudes the following headings: Putting local communities at the forefront of climate resilience; and Sheltering from Mahasen: preparing for the future.
See Less -
Ratings for the Fourth Montreal Protocol Ozone Depleting Substances Phaseout Project for China were as follows: outcomes were highly satisfactory; risk to development outcome was low; Bank performance was highly satisfactory and borrower performance was also highly satisfactory.
... See More + Some lessons learned includes: Ozone Depleting Substance (ODS) production issues should be tackled in a more upstream manner within the context of ODS phaseout strategies. Addressing the phase-out of ODS at the sector level is a more rational and cost effective manner by which to curb large, non-uniform and dispersed consumption and production of ODS. The use of a three pronged phase-out approach that supports policy development, technical assistance activities and the financing of ODS phase-out on at enterprise level based on annual sector reduction targets addresses the key aspects of sustainable management of complex sectoral or national initiatives. The modular nature of the umbrella modality stipulated within the project's Grant Agreement (GA) was a key in supporting the aforementioned point, though it was strongly reinforced by the addition of a standardized sectoral phase-out approach. Performance-based programming, where funds are released annually based on pre-determined phase-out schedules, targets, and specific performance indicators having been met, provides an excellent implementation structure with which to motivate and incentivize stakeholders to find the most cost effective ways to convert to non-ODS technologies or to phase-out ODS production. Investment in the development and effective management of a comprehensive Management Information System (MIS), complemented by verification of both financial records (conducted by the national audit body) and technical results by World Bank experts, are key to gauging the accuracy of results generated.
See Less -
Implementation Completion and Results Report ICR0413 DEC 17, 2013
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
Climate change is happening faster and in a dramatically more visible way in the Earth's cryosphere than anywhere else on earth. Cryosphere is defined as elements of the Earth system containing water in its frozen state.
... See More + The average temperature has risen here at over twice the global mean in the Arctic, Antarctic Peninsula, and much of the Himalayas and other mountain regions. This report summarizes the changes already being observed in the following five major cryosphere regions: the Andes, Antarctica, Arctic, East African Highlands, and the Himalayas. It then provides a science-based assessment of the impact of addressing methane and black carbon to reduce the risk to the global environment and human societies, especially for the most vulnerable populations. Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive assessment of the changes occurring in these five regions, based on the most recent literature, including the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2013). Chapter 3 describes the pollution and climate nexus and the evolving knowledge of how methane and black carbon impact climate specifically in cryosphere regions. Chapter 4 presents the background and methods used for new modeling work conducted as part of this study, building extensively the United Nations Environment Programme/World Meteorological Organization Integrated Assessment of Black Carbon and Ozone (2010). Chapter 5 presents the results of the new modeling in these five major cryosphere regions as well as globally for health, crop impacts, and climate. Finally, Chapter 6 discusses the implications and new directions for the cryosphere regions emerging from these modeling results.
See Less -
The importance of weather, climate, and water1 information is rising because of the need to serve more elaborate societal needs, minimize growing economic losses, and help countries adapt to climate change.
... See More + Weather, climate, and water affect societies and economies through extreme events, such as tropical cyclones, floods, high winds, storm surges, and prolonged droughts, and through high-impact weather and climate events that affect demand for electricity and production capacity, planting and harvesting dates, management of construction, transportation networks and inventories, and human health. The key players are the National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs), which are the backbone of the global weather and climate enterprise. By international agreement under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), they are the government's authoritative source of weather, climate, and water information, providing timely input to emergency managers, national and local administrations, the public, and critical economic sectors. The report underscores the urgent need to strengthen NMHSs, especially those in developing countries, and provides cost-benefit estimates of the return that countries can hope to achieve. It also offers a recommended approach that has been tested and implemented in Europe, in Central and South Asia, and countries in other regions. The NMHSs make a significant contribution to safety, security, and economic well-being by observing, forecasting, and warning of pending weather, climate, and water threats.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This report focuses on the risks of climate change to development in Sub-Saharan Africa, South East Asia and South Asia. Building on the 2012 report, turn down the heat: why a 4 degree celsius warmer world must be avoided, this new scientific analysis examines the likely impacts of present day, 2 degree celsius and 4 degree celsius warming on agricultural production, water resources, and coastal vulnerability for affected populations.
... See More + It finds many significant climate and development impacts are already being felt in some regions, and in some cases multiple threats of increasing extreme heat waves, sea-level rise, more severe storms, droughts and floods are expected to have further severe negative implications for the poorest. Climate-related extreme events could push households below the poverty trap threshold. High temperature extremes appear likely to affect yields of rice, wheat, maize and other important crops, adversely affecting food security. Promoting economic growth and the eradication of poverty and inequality will thus be an increasingly challenging task under future climate change. Immediate steps are needed to help countries adapt to the risks already locked in at current levels of 0.8 degree celsius warming, but with ambitious global action to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, many of the worst projected climate impacts could still be avoided by holding warming below 2 degree celsius.
See Less -
This paper reviews the literature on the potential biophysical and economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas. Existing observations indicate that the temperature is rising at a higher rate in Nepal and Chinese regions of the Himalayas compared with rest of the Himalayas.
... See More + A declining trend of monsoon in the western Indian Himalayas and an increasing trend in the eastern Indian Himalayas have been observed, whereas increasing precipitation and stream flow in many parts of Tibetan Plateau are noted. Glaciers in both the eastern and western Himalayas are mostly retreating, but the majority of the glaciers in Karakorum are either stable or advancing slowly. Expansion of glacier lakes is reported, with the highest rate in Nepal and Bhutan. Most literature predicts increases in temperature and monsoon precipitations and decreases in winter precipitations in the future thereby leading to monsoon flooding and increased sediments in stream flow. Available hydrological simulations indicate reduced rainfall and shrinkage of glacier thereby leading to shortage of water supply for power generation and irrigation in winter particularly in highly glaciated basins. Projected economic impacts of glacial lake outburst floods can be substantial on the developed river basin with infrastructures and population centers. However, there is a clear gap in knowledge of economic impacts of climate change in the Himalayas.
See Less -
Policy Research Working Paper WPS6516 JUN 01, 2013
Timilsina, Govinda R.; Acharya, Kumud; Gautam, Mahesh R.
Do household consumption-smoothing strategies in poor countries entail significant long-run costs in terms of reduced human capital? This paper exploits the timing of monsoon rainfall shocks and the seasonal nature of agriculture to isolate income effects on early childhood anthropometric outcomes in rural Nepal and to provide evidence on the persistence of these effects into later childhood.
... See More + Findings suggest that a 10 percent increase in rainfall from historic norms during the most recently completed monsoon leads to a 0.15 standard deviation increase in weight-for-age for children ages 0-36 months. This total impact consists of a negative "disease environment effect" of no more than 0.02 standard deviations and a positive "income effect" as high as 0.17 standard deviations. Consistent with this interpretation, excess monsoon rainfall also enhances child stature, but only if the monsoon rainfall shock is experienced in the second year of life. Moreover, this effect on child height is transitory, dissipating completely by age five.
See Less -
Policy Research Working Paper WPS6395 MAR 01, 2013
In the mid-1970s, scientists discovered that the use of certain man-made industrial chemicals threatened to damage the protective ozone layer that shields the earth and protects human and ecosystem health from the sun's dangerous ultraviolet radiation.
... See More + Ozone-depleting substances (ODS), as they came to be known, were found in products as diverse as refrigerators, aerosol spray cans, fire extinguishers, air-conditioners, household furniture and car interiors. Their use in industrial and agricultural processes was thinning the ozone layer and allowing increased levels of ultraviolet (UV) radiation to reach the earth's surface. By the mid-1980s, the existence of a severe and annually recurrent ozone 'hole' over Antarctica was confirmed, compounded by a thinning of the ozone layer over northern regions. Increased UV radiation reaching the earth posed a danger to human health, increased risk of skin cancers, eye cataracts and suppression of the body's immune response, and threatened the global environment by affecting terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, agricultural and fishery yields, as well as the cyclical movement of chemicals, such as carbon, within the earth's system. The implementation of the Montreal Protocol has resulted in a 98 percent drop in total global production of ODS, and initiated a restoration of the ozone layer that has prevented an estimated doubling of the UV-B radiation that would otherwise have been reaching the earth in the northern mid-latitudes by the year 2050. What's more, since certain ODS is also greenhouse gases (GHG), their elimination serves to protect not only our earth's ozone layer but also the global climate. Implementation of the Protocol therefore, has also contributed significantly to global efforts to address climate change, averting GHG emissions equivalent to approximately 8 billion tons CO2 per year between 1990-2010 through transition to lower or no-global warming potential (GWP) alternatives.
See Less -
One of the major constraints for the improvement of agricultural risk management in Central America, and in particular to the development of weather index-based insurance, is the availability of complete meteorological data.
... See More + Limitations with the data are related to restrictions in weather station coverage (density), and problems with the quality (errors and gaps in the information) and availability of historical records. This paper evaluates the reconstruction of historical meteorological records with gridded datasets for Honduras and Guatemala1 using the methodology in Uribe Alcantara et al. (2009).The reconstruction with synthetic series is implemented by replacing missing observations with estimations from regular grids (or gridded analyses). The development of synthetic series proposed here will facilitate, among other potential uses, the implementation of risk analysis in insurance contracts where meteorological information is limited or incomplete. This paper is organized in four sections. Section one describes the conceptual approach and methods implemented for the evaluation of the data and the development of the gridded analysis. Section two describes the results of the implementation of the gridded analysis for Honduras and Guatemala. Section three provides a brief description of possible applications of the regular grids for the development of weather insurance contracts. Section four summarizes the main conclusions.
See Less -