Volume 1
Global climate change and sustainable development : third report of Session 2001-02 / International Development Committee.
- Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons. International Development Committee
- Date:
- 2002
Licence: Open Government Licence
Credit: Global climate change and sustainable development : third report of Session 2001-02 / International Development Committee. Source: Wellcome Collection.
69/92 page 67
![131. Many of the key players and policy makers, financial institutions and the private sector, are not engaged in the debate on climate change with developing countries.**' As aresult, much of the work on climate change has taken place within specialisms and within specialists’ own spheres of competence. There has been little interaction between climate experts and experts in development or disaster studies either at a research or policy level.**” Policies to address climate change could have a positive impact on regional economic development just as environmental issues can be tackled in ways that bring economic and social benefits. Many actions can be taken locally and regionally, without waiting for international agreements, particularly on co-ordination and sharing of best practice. The process of building capacity must be participatory and should ensure local communities are involved in its planning. Impact on investment 132. Developing countries have an understandable concern that the imposition of environmental conditions and policies could deter foreign direct investment (FDI).**? The imposition of sensible environmental conditions would be unlikely to deter a serious investor interested in a long-term partnership. Any conditions imposed would be little different to those they faced elsewhere in the world. FDI far outstrips ODA and is vital for development. It is essential that investments are environmentally and socially sound.*** However, increased climate risk (such as extreme weather events or sea level rises) could jeopardise a country’s ability to borrow and to attract FDI. Shell told us there were a range of external barriers to successful private sector involvement in developing economies, in particular, weak governance, inappropriate legal and policy frameworks to encourage private sector investment, and limited developmental capacity. They acknowledged that while governments, donors and civil society, had historically tackled these challenges there was a role for businesses in tackling these issues.*”’ Climate risk adds another potential barrier to FDI unless countries can demonstrate that the risks have been recognised and a policy framework exists or is being developed to address them. Poor disaster preparedness might hamper a country’s chance of obtaining insurance cover and could affect its credit rating. Developing countries need to take action on adaptation and mitigation to show that they can manage climate risk. i ‘Linkages between climate change and sustainable development, Beg et al, 2001 (submitted to Climate Policy in October 2001 revised December 2001) oe 94 | Ey 73 [para 25] 354 Th id. 395By 147](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b32221356_0001_0069.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
