The Adaptive Age

• Author: Kristalina Georgieva
• Position: KRISTALINA GEORGIEVA is managing director of the IMF.
• Pages: 20-21

20 FINANCE & DEVELOPMENT | December 2019

STRAIGHT TALK

WHEN I THINK of the incredible challenges we must

confront in the face of a changi ng climate, my

mind focuses on young people. Eventually, they

will be the ones either to enjoy the fruits or bea r

the burdens resulting from act ions taken today.

I think of my 9-year-old granddaug hter. By the

time she turns 20, she may be witness to climate

change so profound that it pushes an add itional 100

million people into poverty. By the time she turns

40, 140 million may become climate migra nts—

people forced to ee homes that are no longer safe

or able to provide them with livelihoods. And if

she lives to be 90, the planet may be 3 –4° hotter

and barely livable.

Unless we act. We can avoid this bleak futu re,

and we know what we have to do—reduce emis-

sions, oset what cannot be reduced, a nd adapt to

new climate realities. No ind ividual or institution

can stand on the sidelines.

Reality check

Our eorts to reduce greenhouse g as emissions

through various mitig ation measures—phasing out

fossil fuels, increa sing energy eciency, adopting

renewable energy sources, improving la nd use and

agricultural practices—continue to move forward,

but the pace is too slow. We have to scale up and

accelerate the transition to a low-car bon economy.

At the same time, we must recogn ize that climate

change is alre ady happening and aecting t he lives

of millions of people. ere are more frequent and

more severe weather-related events—more d roughts,

more oods, more heat waves, more storms.

Ready or not, we are entering an age of adapta-

tion. And we need to be smart about it. Adaptat ion

is not a defeat, but rather a defense agai nst what

is already happening. e right investments will

deliver a “triple dividend” by averting futu re losses,

spurring e conomic gai ns through innovation,

and delivering social a nd environmental benets

to everyone, but particula rly to those currently

aected and most at ris k. Updated building codes

can ensure infr astructure and building s are better

able to withstand extreme events. M aking agricul-

ture more climate resilient means investing more

money in research and development, which in

turn opens the door to innovation, growth, a nd

healthier communities.

e IMF is stepping up its eorts to dea l with

climate risk. Our m ission is to help our members

build stronger economies and improve people’s

lives through sound moneta ry, scal, and structura l

policies. We consider climate change a system ic

risk to the macroeconomy and one in which the

IMF is deeply involved through its rese arch and

policy advice.

Mitigation plus adaptation

On the mitigation side of the equation, this mean s

intensifying our work on ca rbon pricing and help-

ing governments craft road map s as they navigate

their way from brown economies dependent on

carbon to green ones that strive to be c arbon free.

The Adaptive Age

No institution or individual can stand on the sidelines in the fight

against climate change

Kristalina Georgieva

PHOTO: IM F