Vulnerability of Infrastructure to Climate Variability: How Does this affect Infrastructure Lending Policies?

Abstract:

Economic development is frequently disrupted by weather-related natural disasters. These extreme events can cause sharp increases in poverty and slow the pace of human development. This paper explores issues related to the vulnerability of infrastructure to weather-related natural events. It explores whether different types of critical infrastructure face different risks from changes in climate variability, and the impact of disasters on the poor.

The paper emphasizes coping strategies to deal with increased vulnerability as it relates to infrastructure. Two main themes are developed here. First, how to incorporate increased vulnerability as a component of the planning process for infrastructure projects and second, how to increase the coping skills to deal with increasing risk.