Climate policy debates tend to focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the primary cause of climate change. However, climate change is expected to continue even under the most optimistic emission scenarios, inflicting severe damage. Across Europe, increasingly frequent and more severe flooding is causing significant physical damage, while rising temperatures and droughts are leading to severe economic losses for farmers in Europe and around the world. Climate change also threatens the livelihoods of communities in many developing countries, where resilience is already low. Therefore, it is crucial to develop comprehensive adaptation strategies to minimize economic costs, enhance public safety, and address health threats associated with the escalating climate crisis.

The 2025 Annual EconPol conference will shed light on some of the most complex and most pressing questions of our time that put adaptation and resilience to climate change center stage. For more information, please click HERE.

Panel B: Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries | 2:45pm (Europe/Brussels)

In this panel, speakers will link the European perspective with the perspective of developing countries, as the latter are particularly hard hit by the consequences of climate change. What adaptation strategies are available to these countries? What obstacles do these regions have to overcome if they want to adapt? Does the EU development strategy contribute effectively to overcoming these obstacles?

Panelist

• Johan Swinnen, Director General, IFPRI