Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

A critical review of impact of and adaptation to climate change in developed and developing economies

  • Published:
Environment, Development and Sustainability Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Rapid change in climate is set to alter the delicate balance that exists between man and nature. It is more so for the region which are ecologically fragile. The literature to this effect points out that the poorest countries and communities are likely to suffer the most because of their geographic locations, low income and low institutional capacity, as well as their greater reliance on climate-sensitive sectors like agriculture. Even if climate mitigations plans are implemented properly there will be some degree of warming due to inertia of emissions already released. As such, there is a strong consensus about the need of adaptation to changing climatic conditions. Adaptation is believed to enhance the resilience against increasing climate variability. In this backdrop, the objective of the present paper is, therefore, to systematically and critically review the existing literature on the impacts of climate change and choice of adaptations across countries and draw insights for suggesting a comprehensive policy framework particularly for developing countries in this regard. The paper finds that the role of government and civil society is crucial for enabling efficient adaptation methods. Development policies and programs having synergy effect with climate change initiatives help adapt with the changing climate better. However, the availability of clean technology in developing countries will play the decisive role in controlling their growth rate of emission. This will be made feasible only when there is a better understanding of the problem between the developed and developing world about the eminent danger arising out of climate change.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. According to Wunder (2005), PES is a voluntary transaction where a well-defined ES is bought by an (minimum one) environmental service buyer from the ES provider and the ES buyer does so if and only if the ES provider over time secures the conditional provision of that service.

References

  • Asian Development Bank. (1993). National response strategy for global climate change Peoples Republic of China.

  • Acosta-Michlik, L., & Espaldon, V. (2008). Assessing vulnerability of selected farming communities in Phillipines based on a behavioural model of agent’s adaptation to Global Environmental Change. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 554–563.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Acosta-Michlik, L., Kelker, U., & Sharma, U. (2008). A critical overview: Local evidence on vulnerabilities and adaptations to global environmental chnage in developing countries. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 539–542.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Adams, R., McCarl, B., Segerson, K., Rosenzweig, C., Bryant, K., Dixon, B., et al. (1999). The economic effect of climate change on US agriculture. In R. Mendelsohn & J. Neumann (Eds.), The economic impact of climate change on the economy of the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Adger, W. N., Huq, S., Brown, K., Conway, D., & Hulme, M. (2003). Adaptation to climate change in developing world. Progress in Development Studies, 3(3), 179–195.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Aguilar, L. (2004). Climate change and disaster mitigation. Switzerland: IUCN.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ali, J., & Kapoor, S. (2008). Farmers’ perception on risks in fruits and vegetables production. Agricultural Economics Research Review, 21, 317–326.

    Google Scholar 

  • Behara, B., & Vaswani, R. T. (2007). Household perception of climate change in Leh, India. Vidyasagar University Journal of Economics, 12(1), 82–89.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bhadwal, S., Bhandari, P., Javed, A., Kelkar, U., O’Brein, K., & Barg, S. (2003). Coping with global change: Vulnerability and adaptation in Indian agriculture. New Delhi: IISD Publication Centre.

    Google Scholar 

  • Blaikie, P., Cannon, T., Davis, I., & Wisner, B. (1994). At risk: Natural hazards, people’s vulnerability, and disasters. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bohle, H., Downing, T., & Watts, M. (1994). Climate change and social vulnerability. Global Environmental Change, 4(1), 37–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Borrell, J., Lane, S., & Fraser, S. (2008). Likely effects of global warming and mitigation policies on rural livelihood. New Community Quarterly, 6(4), 4–11.

    Google Scholar 

  • Branosky, E. (2006). Agriculture and climate change: The policy context. World policy note, no. 1. World Resource Institute: Washington.

    Google Scholar 

  • Broadbent, J. (1999). Environmental politics in Japan: Networks of power and protest. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brown, O. (2007). Climate change and forced migration: Observations, projections and implications. A background paper for the 2007 Human Development Report.

  • Butt, A. T., Bruce, A. M., & Alpha, O. K. (2006). Policies for reducing agricultural sector vulnerability to climate change in Mali. Climate Policy, 5(6), 583–598.

    Google Scholar 

  • Byg, A., & Salick, J. (2009). Local perspectives on a global phenomenon-climate change in eastern Tibetan villages. Global Environmental Change, 19(2), 156–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cuddeford, V. (2002). How farmers can adapt to a changing climate. Farm Radio International, Package 64, Script 1.

  • Davidson, O. R. (1993). Carbon abatement potential in Western Africa. In P. Hayes & K. Smith (Eds.), The global greenhouse regime: Who pays? London: United Nations University Press/Earthscan Publications.

  • de Oliveira, J. A. P. (2009). The implementation of climate change related policies at the subnational level: An analysis of three countries. Habitat International, 33(3), 253–259.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deressa, T., Hassan, R.M., Alemu, T., Yesuf, M., & Ringler, C. (2008). Analyzing the determinants of farmers’ choice of adaptation methods and perceptions of climate change in the Nile Basin of Ethiopia. IFPRI Discussion Paper 00798.

  • Easterling, W. E., Crosson, P. R., Rosenberg, N. J., McKenney, M. S., Katz, L. A., & Lemon, K. M. (1993). Agricultural impacts of and responses to climate change in the Missouri-Iowa-Nebraska region. Climatic Change, 24(1–2), 23–62.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • El-Hinnawi, E. (1985). Environmental refugees. Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Engle, S., Pagiola, S., & Wunder, S. (2008). Designing payments for environmental services in theory and practice: An overview of the issues. Ecological Economics, 65, 663–674.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • FAO FOCUS (2009). Women and food security. http://www.fao.org/FOCUS/E/Women/Sustin-e.htm. Accessed 25 April 2010.

  • Few, R. (2007). Health and climatic hazards: Framing social research on vulnerability, response and adaptation. Global Environmental Change, 17(2), 281–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fujikura, R. (2001). A non-confrontational approach to socially responsible air pollution control: The electoral experience of Kitakyushu. Local Environment, 6(4), 469–482.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gore, A. (2007). An inconvenient truth: Planetary emergency of global warming and what we can do about it. Pennsylvania: Rodale Publisher.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grasso, M. (2004). Climate change: The global public good. Working Papers 75, University of Milano-Bicocca.

  • Hallegatte, S., Hourcade, J. C., & Dumas, P. (2006). Why economic dynamics matter in assessing climate change damages: Illustration on extreme events. Ecological Economics, 62(2), 330–340.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halsnaes, K. (1996). The economics of climate change mitigation in developing countries. Energy Policy, 24(10–11), 917–926.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hubler, M., Klepper, G., & Peterson, S. (2008). The effects of rising temperatures on health and productivity in Germany. Ecological Economics, 68(1–2), 381–393.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Human Development Report. (2007). Fighting climate change: Human solidarity in divided world. New York, USA: United Nations Development Programme.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hunter, L. M. (2007). Climate change, rural vulnerabilities and migration. Population Reference Bureau. http://www.prb.org/Articles/2007/ClimateChangeinRuralAreas.aspx (Online). Accessed 4 May 2009.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (1990). Potential impacts of climate change. Report of Working Group 2 to IPCC.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2001). Climate Change 2001: Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability. Contributions of Working Group II to the third assessment Report of the IPCC. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2007). Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2008). Climate change and water. IPCC technical paper VI. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • International Energy Agency. (2009). CO 2 emissions from fuel combustion: Highlights.

  • IPCC. (1992). Climate change 1992: The supplementary report to the IPCC scientific assessment.

  • Kaiser, H., Riha, S., Wilkes, D., & Sampath, R. (1993). Adaptation to global climate change at the farm level. In H. Kaiser & T. Drennen (Eds.), Agricultural dimensions of global climate change. Delray Beach: St. Lucie Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karim, M. F., & Mimura, N. (2008). Impacts of climate change and sea-level rise on cyclonic storm surge floods in Bangladesh. Global Environmental Change, 18(3), 490–500.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karl, T. R., Melillo, J. M., & Peterson, T. C. (2009). Global climate change impacts in the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kavanagh, B., & Lonergan, S. (1992). Environmental degradation, population displacement and global security. Canadian Global Change Program, 92(1), 55.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelkar, U., Narula, K. K., Sharma, V., & Chandna, U. (2008). Vulnerability and adaptation to climate variability and water resources in Uttarakhand State, India. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 564–574.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, V. S., Twilley, R. R., Kleypas, J. A., Cowan Jr, J. H., & Hare, S. R. (2002). Coastal and marine ecosystems and global climate change: Potential effects on US resources. Prepared for the Pew Centre on Global Climate Change.

  • Keskitalo, H., & Carina, E. (2009). Governance in vulnerability assessment: The role of globalising decision-making networks in determining local vulnerability & adaptive capacity. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategy for Global Change, 14(2), 185–201.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klooster, D., & Masera, O. (2000). Community forest management in Mexico. Global Environmental Change, 10(4), 259–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, K. K., Rajagopalan, B., & Cane, M. A. (1999). On the weakening relationship between Indian monsoon and ENSO. Science, 284(5423), 2156–2159.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Loaiciga, H. A., Valdes, J. B., Vogel, R., Garvey, J., & Schwarz, H. (1996). Global warming and hydrologic cycle. Journal of Hydrology, 174(1–2), 83–127.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mani, M., Markandya, A., & Ipe, V. (2008). Climate change: Adaptation and mitigation in development programs. Environment Department, The World Bank.

  • McLeman, R., Mayo, D., Strebeck, E., & Smit, B. (2008). Draught adaptation in rural eastern Oklahoma in the 1930s: Lessons for climate change adaptation research. Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change (Springer), 13(4), 379–400.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R. (2009). The impact of climate change on agriculture in developing countries. Journal of Natural Resources Policy Research, 1(1), 5–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., & Dinar, A. (2003). Climate, water, and agriculture. Land Economics, 79(3), 328–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., Nordhaus, W., & Shaw, D. (1994). The impact of global warming on agriculture: A Ricardian analysis. American Economic Review, 84(4), 753–771.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., Nordhaus, W., & Shaw, D. (1999a). The impact of climate variation on US agriculture. In R. Mendelsohn & J. Neumann (Eds.), The impact of climate change on the economy of the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., Nordhaus, W., & Shaw, D. (1999b). The impact of climate variation on US agriculture. In R. Mendelsohn & J. Neumann (Eds.), The impact of climate change on the economy of the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Mendelsohn, R., & Sanghi, A. (2008). The impacts of global warming on farmers in Brazil and India. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 655–665.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mertz, O., Halsnaes, K., Olesen, J. E., & Rasmussen, K. (2009). Adaptation to climate change in developing countries. Environmental Management, 43(5), 743–752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millennium Ecosystem Assessment (M.A). (2005). Ecosystem and human well-being: A framework for assessment. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ministry of Rural Development (MRD) Report. (2008). Government of India. NREGA: Two years 2006–2008. In Singh, S. (Ed.) Success story: How NREGA helped Panihari village. Down to Earth. 2008. March 28.

  • Myers, N. (1993). Ultimate security: The environmental basis of political stability. Washington, DC: Island Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nair, R., Shukla, P. R., Rana, A. (2002). Energy use and climate change: A policy analysis for India.

  • Nanda, N. (2009). Climate change and trade policy: A preliminary discussion. Asia Pacific Research and Training Network on Trade (UN ESCAP). Issue no. 4.

  • Nyong, A., Fiki, C., & McLeman, R. (2006). Drought-related conflicts, management and resolution in the West African Sahel: Considerations for climate change research. Die Erde, 137(3), 229.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pagiola, S. (2005). Payments for environmental services in Costa Rica. Presented at the Workshop on “Payments for Environmental Services (PES)—Methods and Design in Developing and Developed Countries”, Titisee, Germany, June 15–18, 2005.

  • Pagiola, S., Arcenas, A., & Platais, G. (2005). Can payments for environmental services help reduce poverty? An exploration of the issues and the evidence to date from Latin America. World Development, 33(2), 237–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Panayotou, T. (1993). Green market: The economics of sustainable development. Sans Francisco, California: Institute for Contemporary Studies.

    Google Scholar 

  • Parikh, J. (2008). Mainstreaming gender into climate change policies UNDP, India.

  • Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (Postnote). (2006). Adapting to climate change in developing countries, no. 269 (pp. 1–4).

  • Preker, A. S., Carrin, G., Dror, D. M., Jakab, M., Hsiao, W., & Arhin, D. (2001). Role of communities in resource mobilization and risk sharing. HNP discussion paper. The World Bank.

  • Rockstrom, J. (2000). Water resources management in smallholder farms in eastern and southern Africa: An overview. Physics and Chemistry of the Earth (B), 25(3), 275–283.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenzweig, C., & Parry, M. L. (1994). Potential impact of climate-change on world food supply. Nature, 367(6459), 133–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Saldana-Zorrilla, S. O. (2008). Stakeholders’ views of reducing rural vulnerability to natural disasters in Southern Mexico: Hazard exposure and coping and adaptive capacity. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 583–597.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sathaye, J., & Goldman, N. (Eds.) (1991). CO 2 emissions from developing countries: Better understanding the role of energy in the long term. Volume II: Argentina, Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela; and volume III: China, India, Indonesia and South Korea. Energy & Environment Division, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory.

  • Sawa, P. (2008). Climate change to expose women to more gender based violence in conflict areas of Uganda. African Science News, August 05. Online: http://africasciencenews.org/asns/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=593&Itemid=1.

  • Schreurs, M. A. (2002). Environmental politics in Japan, Germany, and the United States. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seo, N., & Mendelsohn, R. (2008a). A structural Ricardian analysis of climate change impacts on African farmers. World Bank Policy Research Working Paper 4603. Washington, DC.

  • Seo, N., & Mendelsohn, R. (2008b). An analysis of crop choice: Adapting to climate change in Latin American farms. Ecological Economics, 67, 109–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smit, B., McNabb, D., & Smithers, J. (1996). Agricultural adaptation to climatic variation. Climatic Change, 33(1L), 7–29.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, K. (2000). Environmental hazards: Assessing risk and reducing disaster. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stern, N. (2006). Stern review: The economics of climate change. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • The World Health Report. (2004). The changing history. The World Health Organisation.

  • The World Health Report. (2007). A safer future: Global public health security in the 21st century. The World Health Organisation.

  • Tol, R. S. J., Downing, T. E., Kuik, O. J., & Smith, J. B. (2004). Distributional aspects of climate change impacts. Global Environmental Change, 14(3), 259–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Toni, F., & Holanda, E. (2008). The effects of land tenure on vulnerability to draughts in Northeastern Brazil. Global Environmental Change, 18(4), 575–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • UNDP. (2009). Resource guide on gender and climate change. Published by United Nations Development Programme.

  • UN Women Watch Factsheet (2009). Women, gender equality and climate change. http://www.un.org/womenwatch/feature/climate_change/. Accessed 25 April 2010.

  • United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. (2007). Report on the second workshop on reducing emissions from deforestation in developing countries.

  • United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). (2006). State of the World Population 2006. New York.

  • United States Country Studies Program (USCSP). (1999). Climate change: Mitigation, vulnerability, and adaptation in developing and transition countries. Washington.

  • United States Environment Protection Agency (USEPA). (2007). Recent climate change, climate change-science.

  • Vedwan, N. (2006). Culture, climate and the environment: Local knowledge and perception of climate change among apple growers in northwestern India. Journal of Ecological Anthropology, 10(1), 4–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vidal, J. (2008). Rural communities best equipped to cope with climate change: UN Report. http://www.buzzle.com/articles/228343.html (Online). Accessed 10 May 2009.

  • World Bank. (2001). Engendering development: through gender equality in rights, resources and voice. Washington. In Johnsson-Latham, G. (Ed.) A study on gender equality as a pre-requisite for sustainable development. Stockholm, Sweden.

  • World Bank Report (WBR). (2009). South Asia: Climate change strategy.

  • Wunder, S. (2005). Payment for environmental services: Some nuts and bolts. CIFOR Occassional Paper No. 42.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 721302, West Bengal, India

    Pradosh K. Nath & Bhagirath Behera

Authors
  1. Pradosh K. Nath
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Bhagirath Behera
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Bhagirath Behera.

Additional information

Readers should send their comments on this paper to BhaskarNath@aol.com within 3 months of publication of this issue.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Nath, P.K., Behera, B. A critical review of impact of and adaptation to climate change in developed and developing economies. Environ Dev Sustain 13, 141–162 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9253-9

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-010-9253-9

Keywords

Search

Navigation