This study on Poland is part of the World Bank’s series of low-carbon growth studies. It poses the question of how Poland, an EU member state, an industrialized ‘Annex I’ country for the purposes of international climate discussions,1 and an OECD member, can transition to a low emissions economy as successfully as it underwent transition to a market economy in the early 1990s.

This is the story of how one major global development institution, the International Finance Corporation (IFC), recognized and responded to the challenge of climate change, and was itself transformed in the experience. Addressing climate change affected IFC at every organizational level, from high-level policy issues such as the role to take in supporting the use of fossil fuel, to highly technical and operational issues, such as tracking greenhouse gas emissions, and evaluating investments while taking into account

Physical infrastructure at ports and port activities may be highly vulnerable to changes in climate. For instance, the risks could manifest through changes in the level or patterns of shipping, increased flooding affecting movements within ports and causing damage to goods stored, reduced navigability of access channels and business interruption. Some ports will also see opportunities as a result of climate change. A port's reputation for reliability is key to its success, so ports that are more resilient to disruption from climate events should fare better.

Africa has experienced economic growth of more than 5 percent per annum during the past decade, but to sustain this growth, investment in infrastructure is fundamental. Much of these investments will support the construction of long-lived infrastructure (for example, dams, power stations, and irrigation canals), which will be vulnerable to the potentially harsher climate of the future.

This book analyzes the risks to Nigeria's development prospects that climate change poses to agriculture, livestock, and water management. These sectors were chosen because they are central to achieving the growth, livelihood, and environmental objectives of Vision 20: 2020; and because they are already vulnerable to current climate variability. Since other sectors might also be affected, the findings of this research provide lower-bound estimates of overall climate change impacts.

The Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) and the World Bank have agreed to carry out a Climate Change Assessment (CCA) within the framework of the Bank's Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for Nigeria (2010-13). The CCA includes an analysis of options for low-carbon development in selected sectors, including power, oil and gas, transport, and agriculture.