Citation
Anisimov A., Magnan A.K. (eds.) (2023). The global transboundary climate risk report. The Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations & Adaptation Without Borders. 114 pages.
Also available at adaptationwithoutborders.org
Key Messages
The insights emerging from this report demonstrate a blind spot in climate policy: complex climate risks that are transboundary and cascading. These risks represent a shared adaptation challenge and a global responsibility.
- Transboundary climate risks, which are triggered by a climate hazard in one country, cross borders, continents and oceans to affect communities on the other side of the world. So do the consequences of some adaptation actions.
- In a world that is increasingly interconnected, these risks are transmitted through shared natural resources and ecosystems, trade links, finance and human mobility.
- Transboundary climate risks are expected to increase as global warming accelerates to threaten entire societies and economies.
- No country is immune: transboundary climate risks can affect any country, at any time, regardless of its level of development. They combine with non-climate drivers such as poverty and conflict to undermine our collective wellbeing.
- Transboundary climate risks have the greatest impact on the poorest and most vulnerable people, exacerbating inequities and the root causes of their vulnerability.
- Evidence shows that transboundary climate risks are a global concern, yet the international, regional and local mechanisms to adapt to climate change are not yet equipped to meet this common challenge.
- We need a global response to transboundary climate risks if we are to build collective resilience to climate change.
