Adapting to Climate Change: Assessing the World Bank Group ...

Statement of the External Advisory PanelClimate change and climate variability poses big risks, but also opportunities, fordevelopment. If unchecked, in some cases, climate change could reverse many of thedevelopment achievements of recent decades. Preparing to manage and reduceclimate risks is therefore an essential part of development in the 21st century.There are two generic response options. Mitigation addresses the causes of climatechange by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation deals with theconsequences of climate change by reducing our vulnerability and exposure to therisks associated with climate change, climate variability and extreme climate events.Mitigation usually captures the headlines, but the two responses are equallyimportant.Coping with adverse climate conditions has been a defining challenge of humanexistence since the beginning of time. However, in its extent and form, adaptation toanthropogenic climate change is a new and challenging agenda. Adaptation isparticularly notable for low-income countries, where vulnerability to climate changeis invariably high and adaptive capacity often constrained.Against this background we welcome the report by the Independent EvaluationGroup (IEG) on adaptation to climate change in the World Bank Group. The IEGteam has produced a detailed, thorough and insightful report that provides a fairassessment of the Bank’s adaptation performance to date. The report contains anumber of important recommendations that will help the Bank to enhance itsoperational effectiveness on adaptation.Adaptation is a very broad agenda. The IEG team struggled initially to define thescope of their evaluation. Many aspects of development assistance have the potentialto alter (either positively or negatively) vulnerability to climate variability andchange – rural development, health and sanitation, water supply, infrastructure,trade policy, institution building, disaster management, and much else. Ultimatelythe IEG team found the right balance between inclusiveness and analytical focus forthe purpose of this evaluation. However, it is worth noting that the need to factorclimate risks (both current risks and increased risks from climate change) intoproject decisions and development strategies, particularly for the long term, goesbeyond the core areas covered in this report.As the IEG report notes, there are risks of under-investing in adaptation in someareas while simultaneously over-investing in others. A key challenge is to identifythe most promising opportunities considering likely benefits, costs, institutionalxv