Climate Change Risk Management Options for the Water and Sanitation Sector
Date
May 2015
The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) region has a long history of coping with natural hazards such as hurricanes, floods, and coastal storm surges. However, climate change is expected to exacerbate the threat of natural hazards and pose new ones. As a result of climate change, average temperatures and sea levels are known to be rising, precipitation patterns might change, and hurricanes could intensify. Many of these changes are already occurring, and are projected to become more severe in the future. The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) supports a wide-range of projects in the LAC region. Climate change-related risks could adversely affect the financial, economic, environmental, and social performance of current and future IDB investments in the region. This factsheet identifies climate change risks and risk management options that can be incorporated into IDB-investments for the water and sanitation sector.