An initiative to mitigate risk and adapt so countries can build resilience to weather events brought on by climate change was announced recently with its focus on the most vulnerable countries: small island nations, sub-Saharan Africa, and states in South and Southeast Asia. Called A2R the initiative acronym stands for Anticipate, Absorb, Reshape.
Thirteen major donors have pledged $1 billion U.S. to A2R with more than half the money coming from The Rockefeller Foundation. It has created The Global Innovation Lab for Climate Finance to pilot development of cutting edge climate financing and to attract private investment for mitigation and adaptation projects in developing countries. The Foundation in its independent tracking noted that over the last 30 years, 1 out of every 3 dollars invested in global development has been lost because of weather-related disasters. The total losses amount to $3.8 trillion.
The Foundation sees its role as an initiator in achieving sustainability for the world’s poorest through private investment and philanthropy. The $1 billion pledged represents a small start. The real dollars needed are much greater with estimates of between $70 and $100 billion per year to build capacity to adapt in the poorest nations on the planet. Nevertheless, A2R is going ahead with the initail $1 billion to address the following initiatives:
