ABSTRACT

Climate impacts will affect regions and countries unevenly – the poorest countries will suffer most from the negative consequences of climate change because they are in areas most exposed to disasters and they experience extreme climate events already. On top of that, the poorest countries lack resources to cope with the damages after being affected or even to gather information on what can be done beforehand (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2007a). Adaptation to climate change is a process that makes societies able to cope with the uncertainties that lie in the future through appropriate adjustments and well planned development. Throughout history the climate has changed and populations and planners have adjusted accordingly and adapted gradually to seasonal changes and changes in extreme weather events. However, changes are now happening faster and extreme events are becoming stronger and more frequent. The exact economic costs of an increase in the frequency of extreme climate events are uncertain, but the magnitude is large enough to have the potential to threaten development in many countries.