Climate Adaptation and Financing in Vulnerable Urban and Rural Areas

This course (1) describes the expected impacts of climate change that are now inevitable in coastal cities and rural areas around the world, particularly in developing countries; (2) summarizes the provisions of the December 2015 Paris Agreement dealing with climate adaptation; (3) examines the strategies that major cities like New York, Cape Town (South Africa), Dakar (Senegal), Maputo (Mozambique) and Dhaka (Bangladesh) have undertaken to try to avoid or reduce the potentially disastrous effects of sea level rise, drought, disease and the breakdown of civil order from climate change over the balance of the 21st century; (4) summarizes the best practices for countries seeking to confront food insecurity due to drought, heat waves, and deforestation in rural food producing regions; (5) assesses the climate-related problems faced by many of the world’s 40 million “internally displaced persons” (IDPs); and (6) analyzes potential financing sources for the substantial funds required to carry out successful urban, rural and IDP adaptation, including a proposed new international financial transaction tax dedicated to climate adaptation.

Learning Objectives:

I.       Understand the threat that climate change poses to major cities around the world during the balance of the 21st century

II.       Review the provisions of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change relevant to climate resiliency and financing

III.      Gain familiarity with the urban and rural climate adaptation programs being pursued in those parts of the world most vulnerable to climate change

IV.      Understand the options available to meet the long-term financing needs of developing countries seeking to adapt to climate change before their cities become unlivable and their food sources disappear

V.       Understand the role of the U.S., the E.U. and other developed countries in helping developing countries to adapt to climate change – and the stakes for the U.S. and others if those efforts do not succeed