Risk and Resilience in the Era of Climate Change

Description

This book presents essential insights on the interaction between rising risks and raising the bar for resilience during the climate crisis. Its timeliness lies in applying important findings on risk and resilience to runaway climate change. When risk and resilience are brought together in the context of climate catastrophes, three key messages emerge. The first is that accounting for the root causes of these calamities, and not just their symptoms, is essential to slowing the spike in these events. It is therefore vital to link carbon emissions from human activity to the sharp rise in climate disasters globally. The second is that growth economics and policy must factor in the failure of governments and businesses to tackle spillover harm from economic activities, as seen dramatically with global warming. With climate risks rising, this calls for a fundamental revision in the teaching and practice of business and economics. And third, prevention must become a far bigger part of resilience building, with greater preparedness for more intense destruction built into interventions. This emphasis on prevention deems disaster recovery as not just returning to how things were but building back better. Foreword Preface Acknowledgments Praise for Risk and Resilience in the Era of Climate Change Contents Abbreviations List of Figures List of Tables List of Boxes 1 Opening Summary Note Bibliography Part I Risk and Resilience 2 Troubled Times New and Extreme Danger The Nature of Risk Different Perils, Different Places Role of Policy Timing Can Be Everything The Significance of Resilience Facets of Resilience Individuals and Society Climate Risk and Resilience Conclusions Note Bibliography 3 Understanding Risk The Global Risk Landscapes Interactions that Inform Policy Risk and Uncertainty Measuring Risk Probability and Impact Modelling Risk Sources of Disaster Risks Exposure Vulnerability Intensity Disaster Determinants and Policy Conclusions Note Bibliography 4 Resilience That Shapes Risk Nature and Phases of Resilience Social Capital Resilience Phases Interaction Between Risk and Resilience Risk-Resilience Scenarios Resilience Qualifies Risk Mapping Components of Risk and Resilience Addressing Vulnerability The Mekong Delta Country, Regional, and Global Priorities Conclusions Bibliography 5 New Highs in Risk and Resilience Rising Risks Shifting Ground Anchoring Resilience Bigger Dangers, Rebuild Better Synergies Across Sectors Payoffs to Preparedness Confronting Downward Spirals Conclusions Note Bibliography Part II The Climate Catastrophe 6 Intractability of Climate Change Unheeded Warnings Decades of Red Alerts Doomsday Projections Problems Eluding Solutions Degrees of Intractability Jointness and Collective Action Personal Versus Societal Calculus A Super Wicked Problem Unholy Alliance A Success Story Lines of Causation Adding Fuel to the Fire Coal is Best Left Underground Failure in Messaging Conclusions Note Bibliography 7 A Persistently False Dichotomy Centrality of Externalities Pervasiveness of Spillover Effects Growth Economics and Policy Discounting the Future Econometrics and Climate Disasters Emissions and Disasters Policy Influence Economics at the Climate Table Conclusions Bibliography 8 Integrating Resilience in Policymaking Crisis and Disaster Management Infrastructure to the Rescue Society and Governance Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Mitigation and Adaptation Efforts What Affects Success? Economic Policies for Risk Management Alternative Energy Sources Costs and Benefits Green Financing Risks and Rewards Sources of Climate Funds Conclusions Note Bibliography 9 Transformative Change The Big Picture Triage Financing and Pricing Energy Transition Global Economic Policymaking Societal and Individual Behaviour The Quality of Growth Informed by Evaluation Conclusions Bibliography Index