In the last  five years, climate change initiatives have increasingly focussed on development impacts in terms of policy and practice.  Key challenges include: adapting to climate change in all sectors in developing countries; attaining ‘low carbon’ growth whilst achieving the Millennium Development Goals; and mitigating climate change in the fastest growing developing country economies. Global recession provides another question mark for planners – how will funding commitments be realised? These challenges reflect the urgent need for continued improvement of the lives of the poorest despite potential negative effects of climate change. 

This opening event for the Climate Change and International Development Speaker Series, led by Douglas Alexander, began to address and unpack these issues, commenting in particular on two areas: What are the areas of greatest success to date, and how is DFID building effectively on these in collaboration with other development organisations and amongst other UK government departments?  Where do policy makers and practitioners most need to concentrate energies, in the run up to the UN meeting on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009, and in the longer term?  

Rt Hon Douglas Alexander - Secretary of State for International Development

 

Simon Maxwell - Director, ODI

 

John Battle - Chair, All Party Parliamentary Group on Overseas Development