From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia

Publication:
From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia

dc.contributor.editor	Lang, Megan
dc.contributor.editor	Rexer, Jonah
dc.contributor.editor	Sharma, Siddharth
dc.contributor.editor	Triyana, Margaret
dc.date.accessioned	2025-05-22T18:06:47Z
dc.date.available	2025-05-22T18:06:47Z
dc.date.issued	2025-06-03
dc.description.abstract	South Asia is the most climate-vulnerable region among emerging market and developing economies. With governments having limited room to act due to fiscal constraints, the burden of climate adaptation will fall primarily on households and firms. Awareness of climate risks is high; more than three-quarters of households and firms expect a weather shock in the next 10 years. Climate adaptation is widespread, with 63 percent of firms and 80 percent of households having taken action. However, most rely on basic, low-cost solutions rather than leveraging advanced technologies and public infrastructure. Market imperfections and income constraints limit access to information, finance, and technologies needed for more effective adaptation. If these obstacles were removed, private sector adaptation could offset about one-third of the potential damage from rising global temperatures on South Asian economies. The policy priority for governments is therefore to facilitate private sector adaptation through a comprehensive policy package. The package includes climate-specific measures such as improving weather information access, promoting resilient technologies and weather insurance, and investing in protective infrastructure in a targeted manner. Equally important are broader developmental initiatives with resilience co-benefits: in other words, policies that generate double dividends. These include strengthening core public goods like transportation, water systems, and healthcare; addressing barriers to accessing markets, inputs, and finance without causing unintended responses that increase vulnerabilities; and supporting vulnerable groups through shock-responsive social protection.
dc.identifier.uri	https://hdl.handle.net/10986/43230
dc.language.iso	en_US
dc.publisher	Washington, DC: World Bank
dc.relation.ispartofseries	Conference Edition
dc.rights	CC BY 3.0 IGO
dc.rights.holder	World Bank
dc.rights.uri	http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo
dc.title	From Risk to Resilience: Helping People and Firms Adapt in South Asia	en
dc.type	Book
dspace.entity.type	Publication
okr.date.disclosure	2025-06-03