The World Bank Thursday, unveiled its approved Action Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and Resilience covering a period of five years.
Under the plan, the bank will ramp up direct adaptation climate finance to reach $50 billion over FY21–25.
According to the bank, this financing level, an average of $10 billion a year is more than double what was achieved during FY15-18.
The World Bank Group will also pilot new approaches to increasing private finance for adaptation and resilience.
Chief Executive Officer of World Bank, Kristalina Georgieva, said “Our new plan will put climate resilience on an equal footing with our investment in a low carbon future for the first time. We do this because, simply put, the climate is changing so we must mitigate and adapt at the same time.
“We will ramp up our funding to help people build a more resilient future, especially the poorest and most vulnerable who are most affected.”
The increase in adaptation financing will support activities that include: delivering higher quality forecasts, early warning systems and climate information services to better prepare 250 million people in at least 30 countries for climate risks; supporting 100 river basins with climate-informed management plans and/or improved river basin management governance; building more climate-responsive social protection systems; and supporting efforts in at least 20 countries to respond early to, and recover faster from, climate and disaster shocks through additional financial protection instruments.
In addition to boosting finance, the Plan will also support countries to mainstream approaches to systematically manage climate risks at every phase of policy planning, investment design, and implementation.
Former Secretary-General, United Nations and co-chair of the Global Commission on Adaptation, Ban Ki-moon said, “This Action Plan is a welcome step from the World Bank. The world’s poorest and most climate vulnerable countries stand to benefit from its increased finance and support for longer term policy change.”
The Action Plan builds on the link between adaptation and development by promoting effective and early actions that also provide positive development outcomes. For example, investing in mangrove replanting may protect a local community against sea level rise and storm surges, while also creating new opportunities for eco-tourism and fisheries. Early and proactive adaptation and resilience-building actions are more cost-effective than addressing impacts after they occur.
