Climate change will have direct and immediate impacts on the poor and will make poverty reduction more difficult. Climate policies can benefit the poor by taking poverty and social concerns into account in their design.
February 9-10, academics and experts will meet at the World Bank in Washington, D.C., to explore the relationships between climate change and poverty by examining three areas: the impact on poor people’s livelihood and well-being; the impact on the risk for non-poor individuals to fall into poverty; and the impact on the ability of poor people to escape poverty.
The conference will be framed around four channels through which households can escape or fall into poverty: prices, assets, productivity, and opportunities. The discussion will explore how these channels are affected by climate change and policies, focusing on the exposure, vulnerability, and ability to adapt of the poor and those vulnerable to poverty.
Day 1 – February 9, 2015
9:00 – 10:00 Welcoming Remarks
Ana Revenga, Senior Director, Poverty Group, World Bank Group
Marianne Fay, Chief Economist, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group
10:00 – 11:00 Report Framework: Pathways and Projections
Chaired by Francisco H.G. Ferreira, Chief Economist, Africa, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Stephane Hallegatte: Climate Change and Poverty – an Analytical Framework (4 Paths)
- Julie Rozenberg: Projecting Household Surveys to Assess the Impact of Future Economic Conditions and Climate Change on the Poor
11:30 – 1:00 Price Channel: Impact of Changes in Energy and Food Prices on Poverty
Presentations:
- Petr Havlik (IIASA): Energy and Food Price Impact on Productivity
- Maros Ivanic: Food Prices and Poverty
2:00 – 3:00 Assets Channel: Global Exposure and Local Physical Impacts of Disasters
Chaired by Martin Rama, Chief Economist, Poverty Group, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Hessel Winsemius (Deltares/IVM): Global Exposure Analysis on Floods/Drought and Poverty
- Archana Patankar / Anand Patwardhan: Impacts of Flood on Households in Mumbai
- Sushenjit Bandyopadhyay: Rainfall Variability, Occupational Choice, and Welfare in Rural Bangladesh
4:00 – 5:30 Assets Channel: Impacts on Ecosystem-Based Livelihoods
Chaired by Shanta Devarajan, Chief Economist, Midde East and North Africa, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Sven Wunder (CIFOR): Subtropical Forest Landscapes
- Ed Barbier: Ecosystems and Poverty, Including Coastal Zones
- Raffaelo Cervigni: Current and Future Vulnerability in the Drylands
Day 2 – Feburary 10, 2015
9:00 – 10:30 Assets Channel: Health and Human Capital
Chaired by Abdo Yazbeck, Lead Economist, Health Group, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Simon Lloyd: Human Capital and Malnutrition
- Javier Baez: Disasters and Human Capital in Colombia
- Sailesh Tiwari: Monsoon Babies – Rainfall Shocks and Child Nutrition in Nepal
11:00 – 12:30 Assets Channel: Social Protection
Chaired by Jehan Arulpragasam, Practice Manager, Social Protection Group, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Michael Carter / Sarah Janzen: Social Protection and Climate Change
- Carlo del Ninno: Social Protection Work in Africa
- Petra Tschakert: Ability of the Poor to Cope
1:30 – 3:00 Productivity Channel: Labor and Land
Chaired by Jeffrey Lewis, Chief Economist, Global Practices, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Jisung Park: Labor Productivity
- Anne Biewald (PIK-Potsdam): Land Productivity
- Emmanuel Skoufias: Distributional Implications of Climate Change in Rural India
4:00 – 5:30 Opportunity Channel: Conflict, Migration and Adaptation
Chaired by Indermit Gill, Director, DEC Poverty Group, World Bank Group
Presentations:
- Paolo Avner / Stephane Hallegatte: Access to Opportunities in Urban Areas
5:30 – 6:30 Closing: Policy Implications
Marianne Fay, Chief Economist, Climate Change Group, World Bank Group