Financial leaders call for adaptation resources.

• Author: Block, Ben
• Position: EYE ON EARTH

Leaders from the world's top development banks have acknowledged that significant research and funding gaps are preventing developing countries from adapting adequately to climate change.

Sustainable development initiatives often do not factor in climate change, and without greater resources as part of an international climate agreement, developing countries will not be able to finance climate change adaptation plans, said representatives of the World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and Inter-American Development Bank.

"We really have to get our acts together," said Ursula Schafer-Preuss, the ADB's vice president of knowledge management and sustainable development. "Migration in low island states and Bangladesh is a huge problem, but we do not know what to do about it."

Depending on the region, climate change is expected to cause various effects that include widespread drought as glaciers melt, coastal flooding as sea levels rise, and changes in crop production as weather patterns shift, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Adaptation plans strive to protect regions from climate change-related fatalities or economic losses. Examples include water...