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On Defense, France Bites the Bullet, But Avoids Strategic Insolvency May 7, 2013
Iceland’s Recovery Saga Presents Opportunities for Brussels, Washington—and Beijing May 6, 2013
Which Way Forward for Europe’s Hybrid Regimes? May 2, 2013
The Arab Revolts and the Liberal Order May 2, 2013
Events
Andrew Light Speaker Tour in Europe May 14, 2013 / Berlin, Germany; Brussels, BelgiumGMF Senior Fellow Andrew Light participated in a speaking tour in Europe to discuss opportunities for transatlantic cooperation on climate and energy policy in the second Obama administration.
In this podcast, GMF Vice President of Programs Ivan Vejvoda discusses last month's historic agreement to normalize relations between Kosovo and Serbia.
Anchor Elaine Reyes speaks with Andrew Small, Transatlantic Fellow of the Asia Program for the German Marshall Fund, about Beijing's potential role in brokering peace between Israel and Palestine
Events
Index measures countries’ vulnerability to climate change September 23, 2011 / Washington, DC
On September 14, 2011 the German Marshall Fund (GMF) hosted the Global Adaptation Institute’s release of the Global Adaptation Index (GaIn). The index measures both a country’s vulnerability to climate change and its readiness to improve resilience. It is a tool which aims to help business and policymakers better prioritize investments that will help countries adapt to climate change.
Kenneth Hersh, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Global Adaptation Institute, and Dr. Juan Jose Daboub, Founding Chief Executive Officer of the Global Adaptation Institute, illustrated the uniqueness of GaIn as opposed to other indices. First, most studies focus on counties’ vulnerability, but many leave out the concept of readiness. Before the private sector can make the required investment decisions, governments need to create a transparent policy framework. Second, GaIn allows for an analysis over time. It helps private investors understand if countries made progress in the past 15 years or not. Third, GaIn provides a ranking of countries in terms of vulnerability and readiness. The ranking is a powerful tool to help policy makers understand the position of their country in comparison to other countries and to encourage governments to improve their country’s position in the ranking.
The reactions to the release of GaIn by the public sector and the private sector were mainly positive. Stephen Seidel from the Pew Center on Global Climate Change complimented the focus on adaptation as opposed to mitigation and the concept of using a ranking to raise awareness. As rankings are always prone to be contested by countries, the Global Adaptation Institute should be open to and prepared for future discussions and adjustments to its ranking approach. Bruce Kahn, PhD, Senior Investment Analyst from Deutsche Bank Asset Management, stated that GaIn could be a valuable additional tool for private investors. However, Mr. Kahn noted that the index can only be part of the investment decisions and should never be used in isolation.
For more information on GaIn please go to: http://gain.globalai.org/
