The Climate Is Changing – Will We? Weatherproofing the Future

Key Messages• Adaptation to global warming should no longer be seen as an undesirable alternative to mitigating carbon emissions, but as an unavoidable complement to it instead.• Adaptation is highly cost-effective, and its benefits accrue locally and instantaneously when extreme weather strikes. Mitigationʼs benefits, in contrast, are spatially diffuse and occur farther in the future. Both, however, must be pursued simultaneously.• Insurers can advise policymakers, municipalities, and investors on how to properly assess the risks posed by climate-related events.• Developing countries need the full support of developed economies to help them boost their preparedness and resilience in the face of an increasingly hostile climate.• Contrary to widespread perception, most migration in Africa is internal, with the bulk being of the rural-to-urban sort. The flows towards the EU are small by comparison and can be managed with proper support.