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Session I
How bad will be the impact of climate change on development?

Growing awareness that the earliest victims of climate change will be the poorest countries least-equipped to withstand its effects is adding a new dimension to global negotiations on the environment. The EU-backed Global Climate Change Alliance is just one of the new initiatives aimed at protecting developing countries from extreme weather conditions while also reducing the substantial contribution of deforestation to the carbon crisis. What is the likely impact of climate change on less-developed economies and on both the rural and urban poor? Do the world’s richer countries need to develop a separate strategy for mitigating the effects of climate change in the developing world, and ensuring that both drought and flooding do not undo the development policy achievements of past years?

Session II
Where's the money for tackling climate change to come from?

Concern that climate change could trigger massive humanitarian crises in Africa and around the world has seen the launching of private as well as government-led organisations. Bodies like Kofi Annan’s Global Humanitarian Forum plan to concentrate on advanced weather forecasting technologies, irrigation of dry lands and new ways of bringing energy to the poorest societies. What sort of financial investment is implied by all these efforts to address climate change in developing countries? At a time when the global economic recession is threatening to reduce development aid, what are the political prospects for these further financial requirements of the developing world?