The intensity and frequency of extreme weather events and chronic climate-related changes are increasing, globally. With these changes, there is a pressing and clear need for communities worldwide to invest in adapting to climate change. According to the UN Environment Programme, in developing countries alone, adapting to climate change will require USD 280 billion to USD 500 billion per year by 2050 (UNEP 2016).
Study Region
Eight U.S. states bordering the North American Laurentian Great Lakes.
Study Focus
Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) model simulations, based on data from an ensemble of atmospheric-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) used for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC's) Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), were used to quantify potential climate change impacts on winter weather and hydrology in the study region and understand implications for its tourism sector.
New Hydrologic Insights for the Region
The tourism industry is considered to be highly vulnerable to climate change due to the strong causal relationship between weather patterns and tourist travel. However, the effects of this vulnerability to climate change on tourism have not yet been extensively quantified. Furthermore, the extent to which tourism is more or less vulnerable or resilient to climate change compared to other sectors of the economy is not known. The purpose of this study is to examine the extent to which vulnerability and resilience to climate change affect tourism and the overall economy.
As a signatory to the 2015 Paris climate agreement, the Netherlands has pledged to assist developing countries in several areas in adapting to climate change. Its current ambition is to increase contributions to international climate financing towards EUR 80 million annually. Half of this amount will be allocated to a new fund for climate and development, with an emphasis on financing climate adaptation. In addition, it wants to promote knowledge of climate adaptation in developing countries through the Global Centre of Excellence on Climate Adaptation.
Over the last decade, there has been the growing expectation from the international community that the private sector will become an important source of finance for climate change adaptation in developing countries. However, this potential still remains unclear. While it is expected that some private actors will purposefully or unconsciously invest in reducing their own vulnerability, it is far less obvious how the public sector can mobilize private investments in adaptation that deliver benefits to the broader community.
Building resilience to increasingly intense climate change impacts requires effective, urgent adaptation action at the local level. While much progress has been made within the international and national arenas, efforts to successfully implement adaptation at the subnational level remains uneven.
Our “Climate Essentials” publication series offers a foundation of knowledge and ideas to understand the deeper issues of climate change, energy use, resilience and sustainability that affect our world today. This brief explores existing funding streams, the financial aspects of climate resilience, and discusses challenges and new options for valuing these important investments.