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Creating more climate-resilient societies will also require action from businesses. We supported the government of Ghana in developing an innovative strategy for leveraging the private sector to ensure the success of its national adaptation planning.

The coronavirus pandemic adds yet another shock to the multiple challenges that more than a billion people living in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) already face in day-to-day life. It is much more than a health crisis. It has the potential to create devastating health, social, economic and environmental crises that will leave a deep, long-lasting mark. However, it is an opportunity to adopt and implement sustainable solutions during the recovery process, also for LDCs, without losing sight of the climate crisis.

As the economic impacts of COVID-19 on Pacific Small Island Developing States stretch into 2020, there is a real risk that longer-term strategic action on climate change will take a back seat, and countries struggling to keep up with rising tides risk losing further ground.

Every few years, the idea that gas will help Australia transition to a zero-emissions economy seems to re-emerge, as if no one had thought of it before. Federal energy minister Angus Taylor is the latest politician to jump on the gas bandwagon.

The coronavirus pandemic is a new setback for island states already suffering from climate change and storms such as Cyclone Harold and Hurricane Dorian. They are also preparing for the next season… What are the implications for the efficacy of coronavirus measures as well as for the economic resources available to respond to the pandemic?