Warren
Evans, world renowned expert on climate finance and a former head of the World
Bank’s Environment Division, told an audience at IFAD that priorities are shifting
on climate action.
The main themes of his talk were;
shifting priorities, current levels of climate finance, key sources of climate
finance, innovative finance and reaching an international agreement. Evans spoke
about how it is now impossible to delink climate finance and development
finance.
Evans spoke of a new initiative
started by Michael Bloomberg, Hank Paulsen and Tom Steyer. The ‘Risky Business
initiative’, will culminate in a report that
will spell out the likely economic impact of climate change on U.S. business1.
All three men have made fortunes in various business ventures, and all three dedicated
large amounts of their wealth to philanthropic purposes. Bloomberg is a recent
appointee as UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon’s special envoy for cities and
climate change.
There was also discussion of the
‘World Economic Forum’s (WEF) climate adaptation - seizing the challenge’, which captures some of the latest thinking in the
field of climate adaptation and financing, with the goal of assisting
decision-makers in the public and private sectors to gain a better
understanding of the issue2. It suggested that 65 per cent of
projected losses through climate impacts could be averted through investment in
adaptation. This would require a change in approach, shifting the problem from
public to private sector.
Evans went on to talk about the
required innovation in climate finance. There is a need to secure insurance
premium savings, create adaptation tax credits, guarantee loans and enhance
credit and reduce vulnerability credits.
11)
http://www.forbes.com/sites/kerryadolan/2014/04/03/why-mike-bloomberg-teamed-with-former-treasury-secretary-hank-paulson-and-hedge-fund-billionaire-tom-steyer-on-a-project-called-risky-business/
22)
http://www.weforum.org/reports/climate-adaptation-seizing-challenge