Bibliothèque

This policy brief stresses that, with demands on forests expanding and diversifying, and the forestry agenda becoming increasingly fragmented, institutions responsible for forest management must compete with and complement other sectoral interests to prove their worth to society. It highlights that institutional restructuring or “reinvention” may be necessary to grasp opportunities and ensure that society’s demands are effectively and efficiently provided for. In particular, institutional structures need to reflect transitions in forest policies from timber-focused management to focus on protection, conservation and management for a wide range of goods and services.

This policy brief stresses that with only 0.2 hectares of forest per person, the Asia-Pacific region is, per capita, the least forested region in the world. It highlights that reinvestment in forests is necessary to reduce timber import dependence, support biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation, revitalise rural economies and protect land and populations from environmental hazards and the impacts of climate change. Expanding the region’s forest base is an essential component of a greener future.

This policy brief highlights that national and international focus on forests and forestry has grown rapidly in recent times. New factors are coming into play and an increased understanding of forest-related processes and how to manage them for the greatest benefit is required. It stresses that improved performance at all levels will be necessary and it is likely that a protracted period of institutional strengthening and training will be required to implement new standards and expectations effectively.

This analytical report looks at different “green industries” from an occupational safety and health (OSH) perspective, and shows that while green jobs improve the environment, revitalize the economy and create new employment opportunities, they may also present a number of known and unknown risks for workers. For example, the manufacture and installation of wind mills requires new specific skills that may entail new occupational hazards, while risks related to their installation and maintenance are similar to those prevalent in construction. The report also stresses that the transition towards energy-efficient construction and sustainable refurbishment requires skills development and training far beyond those for traditional buildings. Therefore, capacity building for employers, designers, contractors, managers and workers is fundamental to equip them with the new skills and risk prevention methods required to deal with these challenges. Also available in Italian and Portuguese.

This analytical report reviews the history of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the outcomes of the 17th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 17) to the UNFCCC, held in Durban, South Africa, at the end of 2011, and the opportunities and challenges that the climate change negotiations will face in the coming years. In particular, it evaluates the substantive results of the Durban conference, draws implications for developing countries and considers the next steps as a new phase of intergovernmental climate negotiations gets underway.

The policy document seeks to provide guidance for the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)’s dialogue with governments, civil society, and the private sector concerning regional and national climate policy agendas. The strategy also integrates public and private financing and capacity building into a single framework for climate action, and orients the Bank’s efforts to strengthen and consolidate its own capacities, readiness and comparative advantages. Its objective is to contribute to low carbon development and address key vulnerabilities due to the consequences of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC).

This analytical report is the third report of its kind since 2009 when the United Nations (UN) first published details of its annual carbon footprint. It explains the UN’s ambition towards climate neutrality. It also details the greenhouse gas emissions from UN agencies in 2010 and looks back over 2011, explaining and illustrating efforts which are happening across the world, with the UN system, to reduce carbon emissions.

This slide presentation discusses options for financing climate change adaptation in the water sector. It first analyzes the investments needed and the difficulties in estimating the exact costs of adaptation. It then presents various funds in support of developing countries. It conclude with a case study and lessons learned.

This technical document surveys climate change funds related to Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) countries and attempts to derive some implications through performance analyses of these funds. The performance analyses show that the following matters should be addressed: increases in participation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) as an agent in the projects for the LAC region, enlargement of the scale of co-financing in the IDB-brokered cases as well as in the LAC region, and reinforcement of the linkage between the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Initiative (SECCI) Funds and international climate change funds.

This brochure highlights possible actions to promote climate change adaptation in Mesoamerica. It includes options for various sectors such as water, health, energy and transport and specific activities proposed by countries.

This manual aims to support decision makers who need to deal with the impacts of climate change but are not familiar with its science and interpretation of results from climate models. The document starts with a basic climate primer defining the concepts of weather, climate, climate variability and climate change. The mechanisms by which increases in greenhouse gases can cause climate change are discussed. This leads into a description of climate models and their function. Focus then turns to using the model output in assessing likely impacts and vulnerabilities. This includes model verification using observations, quantification of model probabilities and uncertainties, identification of key vulnerabilities as well as adaptation potentials, and, finally, developing response strategies. The manual concludes with a summary of likely climate changes confronting Mesoamerica in coming decades and the possible consequences of those changes.

This technical document discusses a strategy of inclusion of adaptation and mitigation expenses in a model of optimal growth under threat of climate change. Calamity is defined as the result of a shock that reduces the utility level (even to extinction forever) and/or triggers a fundamental change of the economic structure. Mitigation expenses reduce the long-run probability of a calamity or the speed of convergence to it; adaptation expenses help to improve the standard of living after the calamity. The willingness to contribute to those expenses and the effects on the long-run capital stock of the economy depend on perceptions on how they will modify the law of evolution of probabilities of the shock and the standard of living after the shock. The choice between a clean technology and one that increases GHG emissions is also discussed.

This technical document provides a rationale for developing countries to announce future credible commitments to reduce GHG emissions even if these are not to materialize in the short run, and for domestic reasons only. A simple framework is presented in which it is shown that it may be costly for an economy to transition from high to low emissions; and that, if climate policy eventually will be enacted, then it may be better for countries to commit earlier and therefore eliminate the uncertainty for the private sector to invest appropriately in clean technologies. In particular, conditions are shown under which the private investor prefers a pre-announced climate policy, and how this policy affects investment decisions and the deployment of clean technologies.

This policy document presents a framework for action to address climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). It notes that in order to face adaptation challenges, LAC countries should target such key economic sectors as land use, land use change, and forestry (LULUCF), agriculture, water resource management, and urban development, as the consequences of inaction in these sectors could be catastrophic for the economic sustainability of LAC nations. The means to protect these sectors should be developed and concrete adaptation measures fully incorporated into sector planning. Equally important are mitigation policies and related sustainable development practices. The document also highlights financial mechanisms and resources for addressing financial gaps and scaling up investments in the region and the support that can be provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

This technical document provides background information, data and examples on the linkage between agriculture, forestry and climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean. It notices that forests are an important component of national climate change mitigation and adaptation strategies. To respond to country needs in this context, this report strongly focuses on aspects related to forests, mainly on reducing greenhouse gas emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, including sustainable forest management and forest conservation as well as forest restoration. These activities are currently under negotiation under REDD (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation).

This analytical report aims to support the collection and analysis of information needed for the formulation and adoption of climate change adaptation policies in the Mesoamerican region. The document is divided into two parts. The first presents a summary of key findings on the vulnerability of the region and the adaptation process in motion. This part includes identification of projects and adaptation measures, actors and financial cooperation as well as an analysis of information gaps. The second part presents recommendations for possible cooperation on adaption in the sub-region. These recommendations range from the adoption of policies and sectoral plans to definition of strategies for funding and participation in international negotiations.

This technical document aims to contribute to the discussion on climate change in light of the available evidence on the possible channels of transmission of the economic impact of this phenomenon and the results of the fifteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 15), held in Copenhagen from 7 to 18 December 2009. The document presents the outcomes of COP15, their implications and the technical bases for an international agreement on climate change, followed by a discussion on greenhouse gas emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean. It then addresses the economic costs of the impact of climate change and the opportunities for regional integration and coordination in the pursuit of low-carbon economies.

This analytical report aims to show how microfinance services may undergo the impacts of climate change, analyze the opportunities available for Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) and propose concrete actions. It highlights that although microfinance services are not the sole alternative for promoting adaptation to climate change, they have the opportunity and capacity to provide incentives for it, in order to reduce the vulnerability of both their portfolio of clients and the MFIs themselves, in addition to satisfying the growing technological and financial needs occasioned by the impact of climate change with innovative financial services.

This analytical report discusses opportunities for greenhouse gases (GHG) mitigation in Latin America, with particular focus on carbon finance and the clean development mechanism (CDM). The document introduces the CDM and its project cycle, provides an overview of the global and regional carbon market, and highlights challenges and opportunities for the CDM in various sector such as energy, forestry and transport. 

This technical document stresses that an important challenge for Latin American and the Caribbean (LAC) is to increase agriculture production to meet growing global demand for food, fiber and energy without proportionally increasing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, it notices that, while progress has been made in measuring the site-specific and activity-specific GHG emissions associated with an array of land clearing and agricultural activities, there are important gaps in knowledge that need to be filled before informed policy action can proceed. In order to provide a contribution, the study uses the IMPACT model to examine agriculture-GHG emissions links and the effects of policy and other changes on these links. It concludes reporting the results of the baseline and policy scenarios associated with the model and discussing their policy implications.