Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) has launched the report of a global survey ‘Progress and Challenges in Urban Climate Adaptation Planning’ conducted in collaboration with ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability, Philippines. The report provides deeper insight into the status of adaptation planning globally, the approaches cities...

Executive Summary Effective institutions are at the heart of our ability to respond to growing climate risks. Governments and other institutions at the national level can play a critical role in increasing society’s capacity to adjust and readjust (i.e., “adaptive capacity”) as conditions shift and...

Devastating cyclones, floods and ruined crops have made Bangladesh ‘the world’s most aware society on climate change’ Rebecca Sultan’s life has been shattered twice in a few years. First, the 140mph winds of Cyclone Sidr ripped through her village, Gazipara, flattening houses, killing 6,000 people...

Bangladesh is one of the most disaster-prone nations in the world. Every year, about 10 million Bangladeshi citizens are impacted by one or more natural hazards. In the past, the government of Bangladesh had a traditional reactive approach to addressing natural disasters that focused on...

Glaciers in Nepal are shrinking due to warmer temperatures, forming glacial lakes which can burst and cause destructive glacial lake outburst floods (known as GLOFs) in downstream valleys. The Tsho Rolpa glacial lake is the largest of its kind in the Nepali Himalayas, and the...

Water is the primary medium through which climate change influences the Earth’s ecosystems and therefore people’s livelihoods and wellbeing. Besides climatic change, current demographic trends, economic development and related land use changes have direct impact on increasing demand for freshwater resources. Taken together, the net effect of...

The Asia‐Pacific is the world’s most vulnerable region when it comes to natural disasters, and yet scant information exists about how regional Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) are carried out. This report focuses on DRR and CCA efforts undertaken at the...

Based on strategic research carried out at the Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), this paper is a summary of current climate change policies in Asia-Pacific. It explains why it is necessary to integrate climate change and sustainable development in Asia and how this might...

Global scientific consensus indicates that all of Asia is very likely to warm during this century and it is here that the human drama of climate change will largely be played out. This report from the Working Group on Climate Change and Development describes in...

This report is based on the second round of ‘The Asia-Pacific Consultations on Climate Regime Beyond 2012’ in 2006 on specific issues of high priority to the region. These include energy security and development; clean development mechanisms; technology development and transfer, and adaptation to climate...