Climate change and disasters pose a growing threat to development progress. Over time, changes in temperature, precipitation patterns, and sea level will further threaten development. For example, higher sea levels can flood coastal infrastructure, more frequent heat waves can threaten human health, and changing rain patterns can reduce agricultural yields. Other hazards such as landslides, tsunamis, and extreme storms endanger communities, disrupt services, and damage property, setting back development progress.
Climate change puts the World Bank’s goals of ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity at risk. To achieve durable and sustainable development, all IDA and IBRD lending operations are required to be screened for climate and disaster risks during preparation as per IDA policy commitments (since July 1, 2014) and the WBG Climate Change Action Plan (since July 1, 2017). This means IPFs, DPFs, and PforRs, including Additional Financing, Multiphase Programmatic Approach, Emergency Operations, and Guarantees.
Climate and disaster risk screening is one of the five World Bank corporate commitments on climate change. The five corporate commitments related to climate change are: (i) climate and disaster risk screening, (ii) greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, (iii) calculating the shadow price of carbon, (iv) climate co-benefits, and (v) climate indicators.
Screening is a process for identifying short and long-term climate and disaster risks to build resilience in development projects, policies, and programs. Risk identification and proactively incorporating resilience measures – at an early stage of project design – can help projects achieve their development objectives.