A Strategy for Global Development Leaders | Molly Elgin-Cossart, Cathleen Kelly, and Abigail Jones | May 8, 2014

“Climate change is already affecting every continent across the globe, and people living in developing countries will fare far worse than most in a warmer world, warns a March report from the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC. The report—“Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,” authored by leading scientists from around the world—makes clear that there are many actions that local and national decision makers and the international community can take now to strengthen community resilience and reduce climate change risks and costs. The report also reveals that many actions to fight climate change and prepare for its unavoidable impacts will improve public health, safety, and livelihoods. An April IPCC report presents a host of sobering evidence revealing that if countries do not take immediate and ambitious steps to rein in global carbon pollution today, they will face crippling costs to do so in the future. The report identifies many different options that countries can pursue now to reduce emissions from energy production and use, transportation, and land use, among others; these options also provide energy access, reduce local air pollution, and support sustainable development.”