Integrated Development and Climate Policies: how to realise benefits at national and international level?
Development efforts will be seriously hampered by the risks of climate change if these are not tackled. Reduced economic growth due to climate change damages, threatened or under-performing investments, lower food production due to maladaptation to climate variability and a changing climate are examples of the influence of climate on development. Unsustainable development will lead to high emissions of greenhouse gases from energy, transport and agriculture and forestry that will exacerbate climate change. The 'development first' approach, which starts from development priorities and is climate inclusive, provides a framework for an integrated approach. Climate-inclusive policies aim at a development leading to low vulnerability to climate change and development with low greenhouse gas emissions. Although elaborated here for developing countries, this approach is just as relevant for industrialized countries.
Integrating development and climate policies: a necessary approach
Key messages
Four key messages emerge from the presentations and discussions at the workshop:
- Benefits of integrating development and climate policies have been demonstrated.
- The national policy level is crucial for implementing integrated development and climate policies. A more structural approach is possible.
- There is a need to enhance the impact of national experiences by replicating promising approaches in other countries, with assistance from international organisations, and by aiming at development activities that have a large influence on global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Mainstreaming climate change in international policy frameworks and agreements is not done widely enough. There are good opportunities to design and better use these international instruments to facilitate national integrated development and climate policies.
Authors
Specifications
- Publication title
- Integrated Development and Climate Policies: how to realise benefits at national and international level?
- Publication date
- 13 November 2006
- Publication type
- Publication
- Publication language
- English
- Product number
- 91853