Malawi Country Climate and Development Report

Abstract

This Country Climate and Development Report aims to support Malawi’s efforts to achieve its development goals within a changing climate by quantifying the impacts of climate change on the economy and highlighting key policies and interventions that are needed to strengthen climate resilience. The analysis includes climate modeling across multiple scenarios to account for the inherent uncertainty in climate projections; and sector-by-sector analysis and assessment of economywide impacts to identify the biggest impacts. It examines Malawi’s current policy landscape and identifies needed reforms; considers how Malawi can best protect its most vulnerable households; and considers how the country can finance its ambitious development and climate agenda, including the key role of the private sector. The analysis shows that climate change will impose large costs on the economy and on already vulnerable households. If Malawi stays on its current low-growth development trajectory, climate change could reduce GDP by 3-9 percent in 2030, 6-20 percent in 2040, and 8-16 percent by 2050). The analysis also clearly demonstrates that development, as set out in Malawi’s Vision 2063, provides a strong basis for strengthening resilience to climate impacts. If Malawi was to accelerate implementation of policies and programs envisioned in the Vision 2063 the development trajectory would shift to a higher growth path and climate change impacts would be significantly reduced. But the Vision 2063 development path will not be enough and building greater resilience to climate change will require doing different things and doing things differently. With additional adaptation measures, the analysis shows that not only is the impact of climate change on GDP much smaller, GDP is higher with climate change and adaptation when compared to the counterfactual with no climate impacts; losses range from -1 to 3 percent in 2030 and 2040, and 1 to 4 percent in 2050.