Retrofitting Climate Change in Economic Development Programmes

Coinciding with London Climate Action Week 2024, we are delighted to present a series of events alongside a photography exhibition, showcasing BEI members’ thought leadership and projects in climate change mitigation and adaptation in LMICs.

We are grateful for Mott MacDonald’s support as one of the group sponsors of this programme, and as part of the showcase we are delighted to invite you to join our co-designed session on Retrofitting Climate Change in Economic Development Programmes.

Enhancing resilience to climate change demands a more systematic approach than ever. Governments and public institutions hold a pivotal position in shaping, facilitating, and implementing this critical response. Success lies in better coordination and partnerships across government agencies, between governments and donors, and with civil society and the private sector.

Retrofitting climate change in existing economic development programmes allows a move away from a risk focused approach, by aligning economic development policies with long-term climate goals and leveraging funding to drive innovation and support sustainable projects.

To delve into the opportunities and complexities of this issue, we will be joined by colleagues from the FCDO, alongside Mott MacDonald and Climate Sense. Our panel will discuss examples of programmes and funders which are successfully integrating consideration of long-term climate risks and opportunities into existing programmes in economic development, as well as some of the missed opportunities to retrofit climate action into existing economic development programmes. We will touch on enabling mechanisms in procurement, the importance of and opportunity for gender equality and social inclusion, and considerations of building adaptive capacity for retrofitting climate adaptation.

We will be discussing the topic quite broadly and talking through approaches by drawing on examples, as opposed to technical information.