Why climate action is critical to reducing poverty and what it means for policy trade-offs

Lifting people out of poverty requires helping households acquire and use capital and ensuring that they earn a good return from it. Poor households often rely on livelihoods that rely on natural capital, such as farming, pastoralism, or fishing. Climate change and the increase in temperature, rainfall extremes, and storms will have a big impact on the ability of poor people to earn income.

GCF's 2024-2027 Strategic Plan sets out greater ambitions and results for critical global climate action 
The 2024-2027 Strategic Plan of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) was successfully adopted at the 36th meeting of the GCF Board on 10 July. As GCF nears the end of its first programming period, 2020-2023 (GCF-1), and is undergoing replenishment for its next programming period (GCF-2), the Strategic Plan reflects the urgency of the climate crisis and the organisation’s growth and maturation in becoming even more transformative and accessible. 

Five tips for Inclusive disaster-risk management planning
The recent floodings in Malawi and Pakistan, earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria, and Typhoon Mocha in Myanmar are painful reminders of nature’s wrath. By including women, persons with disabilities, the elderly, Indigenous Peoples, and other marginalized groups as active participants in building resilience to climate change and natural hazards, we tap into their unique, often overlooked knowledge, fostering resilience. 

Cooling the heat: can India lead the world in green cooling innovation?
In recent months, India has broken several temperature records, recording its hottest February in 120 years. Heatwaves have devastating impacts on the health, economy, and environment of the nation, causing deaths, illnesses, crop failures, power outages, and water shortages. They also worsen air pollution, a major public health crisis in India.

A community-driven flood resilience information platform for Nicaragua
IIASA researchers and colleagues from Plan International are using modern digital tools to enhance community-driven flood resilience in rural flood-prone communities in Nicaragua. Communities in flood-prone regions worldwide are increasingly being impacted by the effects of flooding. Floods affect more people globally than any other natural hazard and cause some of the largest economic, social, and humanitarian losses.

Bringing a gender perspective to disaster risk finance can save lives and support recovery
Global studies have shown that disasters – in general – often affect women harder than men. Even after years of significant economic and social progress, women face barriers in many areas. And when a natural disaster strikes, women tend to face life-threatening challenges, which could hamper both their economic and physical survival.

Surviving the aftermath of heavy snowfall in Merak, Bhutan: A story of tackling Loss and Damage
In Merak, Bhutan, we meet Ms. Pema Wangmo, who, with the help of her community, worked to restore greenhouses destroyed by climate change-induced snowfall. This is the fifth of the “Voices from the Frontline (Phase III)” stories by GRP and ICCCAD, supported by Irish Aid.

RISK Award 2023: Best project proposals “Climate resilience and early warning” 

The RISK Awards contribute to the target of disaster risk reduction and resilience building through early warning systems (EWS) as an essential strategic asset. The 2023 award focuses on early warning, particularly in building resilience to
climatic risks. 

Solving climate displacement through proactive land policy 
This report speaks to three key areas: accessibility and policy as the root cause, the need for proactive planning to start now, and the fact that protecting house, land, and property rights must be at the core of climate policy responses.

Heat early warning systems roundtable 
This report contains insights, recommendations, and best practices emerging from the discussion, highlighting the importance of collective action to protect vulnerable populations from the impacts of heat waves. Extreme heat and heat waves, exacerbated by climate change, pose significant threats to public health, and effective early warnings are crucial for mitigating these risks.

Climate and equity: a framework to guide policy action 
This brief highlights that reducing the impact of climate change on poor and vulnerable households is essential to hastening poverty reduction. In thinking about policies that do this, this brief finds it helpful to apply the same hazard, exposure, and vulnerability framework often used to understand the physical impacts of climate change and add the non-climate benefits and costs to households that these policies can also bring.

State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 
The State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2022 report shows how climate change is triggering a vicious cycle of events with spiraling impacts on countries and local communities. Explaining how prolonged drought led to a drop in hydroelectricity production in large parts of South America, prompting an upsurge in demand for fossil fuels in a region with major untapped potential for renewable energy.  

The 3rd International Forum on Low-Carbon Cities 
The 3rd International Forum on Low-Carbon Cities will be jointly organized by ESCAP East and North-East Asia Office and Incheon Metropolitan City on 29 August 2023 during the Korea Global Adaptation Week, in collaboration with Green Climate Fund, Incheon Carbon Neutrality Center, ICLEI, innovative Green Development Program, CityNet, Climate Change Center and Local Government Association for Climate and Energy Transition.

Sixth meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council hosted by the Government of Fiji 
The Government of Fiji, through the Fiji Meteorological Service is the host of the sixth Meeting of the Pacific Meteorological Council (PMC-6) in Denarau, Nadi from 14-16 August 2023. The meeting will discuss, promote and explore opportunities to strengthen weather, climate, water, ocean and related development services in the context of sustainable development.

Korea Global Adaptation Week 2023
The Korea Global Adaptation Week (KGAW) 2023 will be one of the spotlight adaptation events of the year. It will be a platform to showcase and promote actions and practices to adapt to the impacts of climate change by accelerating the formulation and implementation of countries’ National Adaptation Plans and by providing adaptation practitioners with foresight thinking for resilience building.

CODATA Connect Webinar, An Ecosystem Perspective on the Ethics of AI and Emerging Digital Technologies
Smart information systems (SIS) are systems that incorporate artificial intelligence techniques, in particular machine learning and big data analytics. These raise significant hopes, for example, to better understand and cure diseases, but also to revolutionise transport, optimise business processes, or reduce carbon emissions.

JRC Summer School on the evaluation of air, soil and water pollution in support to the European Green Deal: a holistic approach
The JRC is pleased to announce the Summer School on the evaluation of air, soil and water pollution in support of the European Green Deal: a holistic approach organised by the European Commission's Joint Research Centre in partnership with Novi Sad University.

Australian Disaster Resilience Conference 2023 
It has never been more important to reduce disaster risk and build resilience. We must reimagine the future to create the change we need. Our partnerships, programs, actions, and ideas all play an essential part in creating and safeguarding the world we want to live in now and the world we want to pass on to future generations.