November 3, 2023
Climate change impacts, such as higher temperatures, floods, and droughts, are physical and have measurable costs. These costs include damaged infrastructure, reduced agricultural yields, degraded ecosystems, and human illness. These impacts are also macro-critical and can be measured in macroeconomic terms like fiscal shocks, trade imbalances, financial sector instability, debt unsustainability, and reduced growth. Recognizing these macro-critical dimensions of climate change helps central authorities (whether political leaders, finance ministries, or central banks) prioritize actions to build climate resilience.
The water sector is fundamental to climate change adaptation. Just as efforts to reduce carbon emissions – also called climate change mitigation –are dominated by reducing fossil fuel use, efforts to better manage climate change impacts are dominated by better managing water. How water is managed in the context of storms, floods, droughts, and sea-level rise is key to managing climate change’s macroeconomic impact on our lives. This lecture will probe how science and economics, together, can help countries shape their climate change adaptation strategies.
At WRI since early 2019, Carter Brandon works on the economics and finance of climate change adaptation. This includes how countries can achieve green and resilient recoveries from the COVID pandemic; how private firms can better price risk in financial markets; and how countries and donors can best address the impending debt crisis. He is also interested in nature-based solutions and prioritizing the management of critical natural assets.
Prior to joining WRI, Carter had a 24-year career at the World Bank, culminating as Global Lead Economist for the Environment/Natural Resources and Climate Change Departments. His primary interests are in the linkages between environmental degradation, climate change, welfare, and growth. While at the World Bank, he also held various senior and management positions concerning the environment, agriculture, poverty, and climate change, including five years in Buenos Aires and four in Beijing.
Earlier in his career, he started and ran the Development Economics Group, an economics consulting firm, for seven years. He also made a documentary film on political unrest in Chiapas, Mexico, and played bassoon in the Paris Symphony. He graduated from Harvard University (B.A.) and Oxford University (MSc and DPhil, ABD, Agricultural Economics), where he was a Rhodes Scholar.