doi:https://doi.org/10.1596/41504

Person:
Sutton, William R.

Last updated: May 14, 2024

Biography

William R. Sutton is the global lead for the World Bank’s Climate-Smart Agriculture program and lead agricultural economist in the Agriculture and Food Global Practice. He has worked for more than 25 years to promote sustainable development by integrating across disciplines—including agriculture, the environment, and climate change—and leading investment and analytical projects in East Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, and Sub-Saharan Africa. Previously, he coordinated the World Bank’s climate-smart and sustainable agriculture program in China, including preparing the innovative Hubei Smart and Sustainable Agriculture Project. He has authored and coauthored dozens of journal articles, reports, and books, including the pioneering World Bank report Looking Beyond the Horizon: How Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Responses Will Reshape Agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and received the World Bank Green Award in 2011 in recognition of his innovative work on climate change and agriculture. He holds a PhD and MS in agricultural and resource economics from the University of California, Davis.

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Now showing 1 - 10 of 15

Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-09-20) Sutton, William R.; Lotsch, Alexander; Prasann, Ashesh
The global agrifood system has been largely overlooked in the fight against climate change. Yet, greenhouse gas emissions from the agrifood system are so big that they alone could cause the world to miss the goal of keeping global average temperatures from rising above 1.5 centigrade compared to preindustrial levels. Greenhouse gas emissions from agrifood must be cut to net zero by 2050 to achieve this goal. Recipe for a Livable Planet: Achieving Net Zero Emissions in the Agrifood System offers the first comprehensive global strategic framework to mitigate the agrifood system’s contributions to climate change, detailing affordable and readily available measures that can cut nearly a third of the world’s planet heating emissions while ensuring global food security. These actions, which are urgently needed, offer three additional benefits: improving food supply reliability, strengthening the global food system’s resilience to climate change, and safeguarding vulnerable populations. This practical guide outlines global actions and specific steps that countries at all income levels can take starting now, focusing on six key areas: investments, incentives, information, innovation, institutions, and inclusion. Calling for collaboration among governments, businesses, citizens, and international organizations, it maps a pathway to making agrifood a significant contributor to addressing climate change and healing the planet.
Striking a Balance: Managing El Niño and La Niña in Philippines’ Agriculture
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Rosegrant, Mark; Valmonte-Santos, Rowena; Ashwill, Maximillian
The purpose of this report is to improve the Philippines’ preparedness for the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) by informing stakeholders of ENSO’s agricultural and economic impacts. The report finds that ENSO has detrimental impacts on the Philippine people, economy, poverty levels, and agricultural sector. The country has taken actions and enacted policies to respond to ENSO events, but these have not adequately mitigated the costs of ENSO impacts. That said, there are further actions the country can take to better prepare for these impacts. This is important because of the Philippines’ high exposure to climate shocks, the rural population’s climate vulnerability, and the prominence of the agricultural sector in the national economy.
Striking a Balance: Managing El Niño and La Niña in Vietnam’s Agriculture
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Rosegrant, Mark; Thurlow, James; Sebastian, Leocardio
This report’s purpose is to help Vietnam policy makers and stakeholders prepare for future El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s agricultural, economic, and poverty impacts in Vietnam and outlining ways forward. The report finds that ENSO’s impacts vary from region to region and harm Vietnam’s people, economy, and agricultural sector. The country prepared for, and responded to, the 2014–2016 El Niño, but there is still room to improve upon these actions. Being proactive to prepare for ENSO is important because of Vietnam’shigh exposure to climate shocks, the prominence of the agricultural sector in the national economy, the rural population’s climate vulnerability, and the lack of researchon ENSO in Vietnam.
Striking a Balance: Managing El Niño and La Niña in Lao PDR’s Agriculture
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Rosegrant, Mark; Koo, Jawoo; Robertson, Ricky
This report’s purpose is to help Lao policy makers and stakeholders prepare for future El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s poverty, economic, and agricultural impacts in Lao PDR and outlining ways forward. The report finds that ENSO’s impacts vary from region to region and harm Lao PDR’s people, economy, and agricultural sector. The country has sought to prepare for climate risks through climate change adaptation and disaster risk management but could do more to prepare specifically for ENSO events. Preparing for ENSO is important because of Lao PDR’s exposure to ENSO-related climate shocks, the importance of agriculture in the national economy, the rural population’s climate and economic vulnerability, and the lack of research on ENSO in Lao PDR.This report is timely given the lack of research on ENSO in Lao PDR and the high likelihood the country will face another El Niño in the near term. It is difficult to disentangle ENSO’s impacts from those of other climate shocks, natural disasters,and economic cycles. This makes it more difficult to design policies and response mechanisms that help mitigate ENSO-related welfare losses and economic damages.This report evaluates El Niño and La Niña’s impacts on Lao PDR’s agricultural sector particularly crops, livestock, and fisheries—and how these have implications for the economy and society. It then looks at the actions undertaken by the Lao government to mitigate the losses associated with climate risks. This includes actions to prepare and respond to climate change and natural disasters. Next, the report simulates how well certain policy options mitigate ENSO-related GDP and welfare losses. It concludes by recommending actions to enhance Lao PDR’s preparedness for future ENSO events.
Striking a Balance: Managing El Niño and La Niña in Cambodia’s Agriculture
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Koo, Jawoo; Vasileiou, Ioannis; Pradesha, Angga
The purpose of this report is to help Cambodia’s policy makers and stakeholders prepare for future El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s poverty, economic, and agricultural impacts in Cambodia and outlining ways forward. The report finds that ENSO’s impacts vary from region to region and harm Cambodia’s people, economy, and agricultural sector. The country has made inroads in preparing for climate events like floods and other natural disasters, but more could be done to prepare for ENSO specifically. Being proactive to prepare for ENSO in Cambodia is important because of the country’s high exposure to climate shocks, the prominence of the agricultural sector in the national economy, the large rural population and its climate vulnerability.
Striking a Balance: Managing El Niño and La Niña in Myanmar’s Agriculture
(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-04) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Rosegrant, Mark; Thurlow, James; Vasileiou, Ioannis
This report’s aim is to raise awareness on El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events among Myanmar’s policy makers and stakeholders. Particularly, the aim is to guide them on preparedness and resiliency building measures. It does this by providing information on ENSO’s social, poverty, economic, and agricultural impacts in Myanmar and outlining ways forward. The report finds that ENSO’s impacts vary from region to region but tend to exacerbate current climatic trends. Myanmar’s government attempted to prepare for, and respond to, the 2016 El Niño, but capacity andorganizational constraints limited its effectiveness. Preparing for ENSO is important because of Myanmar’s low resilience to climate shocks, the importance of agriculture for the national economy, the rural and poor populations’ climate vulnerability, and the lack of research on ENSO in Myanmar.
Reducing the Vulnerability of Moldova's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change : Impact Assessment and Adaptation Options
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-10-03) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Neumann, James E.; Iglesias, Ana; Boehlert, Brent B.
Changes in climate and their impact on agricultural systems and rural economies are already evident throughout Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Adaptation measures now in use in Moldova, largely piecemeal efforts, will be insufficient to prevent impacts on agricultural production over the coming decades. There is growing interest at country and development partner levels to have a better understanding of the exposure, sensitivities, and impacts of climate change at farm level, and to develop and prioritize adaptation measures to mitigate the adverse consequences. The approach of this volume is predicated on strong country ownership and participation, and is defined by its emphasis on 'win-win' or 'no regrets' solutions to the multiple challenges posed by climate change for the farmers of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. The solutions are measures that increase resilience to future climate change, boost current productivity despite the greater climate variability already occurring, and limit greenhouse gas emissions-also known as 'climate-smart agriculture.' Specifically, this report provides a menu of climate change adaptation options for the agriculture and water resources sectors, along with specific recommendations that are tailored to three distinct Agro-Ecological Zones (AEZs) within Moldova. This menu reflects the results of three inter-related activities, conducted jointly by the team and local partners: 1) quantitative economic modeling of baseline conditions and the effects of climate change and an array of adaptation options; 2) qualitative analysis conducted by the expert team of agronomists, crop modelers, and water resources experts; and 3) input from a series of participatory workshops for national decision makers and farmers in each of the AEZs. This report provides a summary of the methods, data, results, and adaptation options for each of these activities.
Looking Beyond the Horizon : How Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Responses Will Reshape Agriculture in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-03-22) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Neumann, James E.
This volume presents a synthesis of the multi-country collaborative program of analytical and advisory activities titled reducing vulnerability to climate change in European and Central Asian (ECA) agricultural systems. Climate change and its impacts on agricultural systems and rural economies are already evident throughout the ECA region. Adaptation measures now in use in the region-largely piecemeal efforts-would be insufficient to prevent impacts on agricultural production over the coming decades. Interest is growing among governments and many of their development partners to gain a better understanding of the exposure, sensitivities, and impacts of climate change at the farm level, and to develop and prioritize adaptation measures to build resilience to the potentially adverse consequences. Agricultural production is inextricably tied to climate, making agriculture one of the most climate-sensitive of all economic sectors. In many countries, such as the four examined in this work, the risks of climate change for the agricultural sector are a particularly immediate and important problem because the majority of the rural population depends either directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. The risks of climate change cannot be effectively dealt with and the opportunities cannot be effectively exploited without a clear plan for aligning agricultural policies with climate change, for developing key agricultural institution capabilities, and for making needed infrastructure and on-farm investments. However, an important advantage of the innovative approach developed for this assessment is that it can be applied to gauge the climate change risks and opportunities of any country's farming systems, and it can be used to define and prioritize practical adaptation options.
Reducing the Vulnerability of Albania's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change : Impact Assessment and Adaptation Options
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-10-03) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Neumann, James E.; Strzępek, Kenneth M.; Droogers, Peter
Changes in climate and their impact on agricultural systems and rural economies are already evident throughout Europe and Central Asia (ECA). Adaptation measures now in use in Albania, largely piecemeal efforts, will be insufficient to prevent impacts on agricultural production over the coming decades. There is growing interest at the country and development partner levels to have a better understanding of the exposure, sensitivities, and impacts of climate change at farm level, and to develop and prioritize adaptation measures to mitigate the adverse consequences. Specifically, this report provides a menu of climate change adaptation options for the agriculture and water resources sectors, along with specific adaptation actions, that are tailored to four distinct agro-ecological zones (AEZs) within Albania. This menu reflects the results of three inter-related activities, conducted jointly by the team and local partners: (1) quantitative economic modeling of baseline conditions and the effects of climate change and an array of adaptation options; (2) qualitative analysis conducted by the team of agronomists, crop modelers, and water resources experts; and (3) input from a series of participatory workshops for national decision makers and farmers in each of the AEZs. This report provides a summary of the methods, data, results, and adaptation options for each of these activities.
Reducing the Vulnerability of Uzbekistan's Agricultural Systems to Climate Change : Impact Assessment and Adaptation Options
(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2013-10-03) Sutton, William R.; Srivastava, Jitendra P.; Neumann, James E.; Droogers, Peter; Boehlert, Brent B.
Agricultural production is inextricably tied to climate, making agriculture one of the most climate-sensitive of all economic sectors. In countries such as Uzbekistan, the risks of climate change for the agricultural sector are a particularly immediate and important problem because the majority of the rural population depends either directly or indirectly on agriculture for their livelihoods. Recent trends in water availability and the presence of drought in Uzbekistan have underscored these risks, as has the presence of agricultural pests that may not have previously been found in Uzbekistan. The need to adapt to climate change in all sectors is on the agenda of national governments and development partners. The capacity to adapt to climatic changes, both in mitigating risks and in taking advantage of the opportunities that climate change can create, is in part dependent on financial resources. As a result, development partners will continue to have an important role in enhancing the adaptive capacity of the Uzbekistan agriculture sector. In response to these challenges, the World Bank and the government of Uzbekistan embarked on a joint study to identify and prioritize options for climate change adaptation of the agricultural sector. This report provides a menu of practical climate change adaptation options for the agriculture and water resources sectors, along with specific recommendations, which are tailored to three distinct agro-ecological zones (AEZs) within Uzbekistan, as well as over-arching actions at the national level. This report is organized as follows: chapter one gives current conditions for Uzbek agriculture and climate; chapter two presents design and methodology; chapter three deals with impacts of climate change on agriculture in Uzbekistan; chapter four presents identification of adaptation options for managing risk to Uzbekistan's agricultural systems; chapter five presents cost-benefit analysis; and chapter six gives options to improve climate resilience of Uzbekistan's agriculture sector.