Climate Change and Sustainable Cities
Climate change will most severely impact areas where a majority of the world’s extremely poor live, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa and parts of South Asia. Therefore, research is needed to, first, better understand the nature of these impacts and their repercussions and, second, assist developing country governments and international agencies in mitigating the impending consequences of climate change facing poor communities. Research can help identify strategies that households, communities, firms, and governments can take and policies to embrace to facilitate such adaptations to climate change in resource-poor contexts.
IIEP held its first international conference in 2011 on the Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change in Low-income Countries. The conference featured frontier research and policy analysis over two full days, reinforcing GW’s place as a leader on this critical issue. The conference was undertaken in partnership with the World Bank (Development Research Group) and the United Nations Development Program (Environment and Energy Group – Global Environmental Finance Team). Since then, IIEP has hosted numerous conferences and events on various aspects of climate change policy including the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for Sub-Saharan Africa, the Economic Effects and Policy Responses to Climate Change and Natural Disasters, Governing Finance and Climate Change, and India’s environmental challenges and green frontier.
IIEP and its faculty also specialize in the study of sustainable cities, investigating how to make the urbanization process more sustainable. IIEP organizes an annual conference on Urbanization and Poverty Reduction with the World Bank, the IMF, the International Growth Centre, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Millenium Challenge Corporation. We also organize multiple workshops and seminars where prominent policy and academic speakers can share their views and solutions to the problems of fast-growing but declining cities; unplanned, uncontrolled, and unsustainable urbanization; and environmental degradation from cities. IIEP’s research also works on international and domestic real estate markets, focusing on housing supply, housing affordability, sustainability, and inclusiveness.
The faculty and events associated with this initiative are listed below.
Conferences
- Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Conferences
The Urbanization and Poverty Reduction Research Conference brings together academics and development practitioners to present and discuss questions relating to People, Markets, and Cities. In particular, the conference will focus on effective land, housing, transport and local labor market policy in cities and their implications for economic development and social inclusion.
March 30, 2023 - 12:00 PM
Thriving – Making Cities Green, Resilient, and Inclusive in a Changing Climate
April 13, 2023 - 9:00 AM
Governing Finance and Climate Change
April 26, 2023 - 9:00 PM
Reshaping the World Bank for the 21st Century: An Agenda for the New President
March 21, 2024 - 11:00 AM
International Day of the Forests
April 17, 2024 - 8:00 AM
The Future of Finance & Trade in Africa Conference