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Paving the way for climate-resilient infrastructure: guidance for practitioners and planners

The UNDP has launched a guide titled "Paving the Way for Climate-Resilient Infrastructure: Guidance for Practitioners and Planners," which aims to help decision makers in developing countries adapt their national public infrastructure to climate change. The guide is part of a series of publications for decision makers in developing countries on how to design, finance and implement effective actions to address climate change. It is based on the outcome of the Conference on Strategies for Adapting Public and Private Infrastructure to Climate Change held in El Salvador in 2010, as a response to the impacts caused by extreme weather events in Central America. The guide emphasizes the development benefits of climate-proofing infrastructure. It notes that adapting infrastructure to the risks of climate change reduces the loss of lives, physical damages and interruptions in critical services. It also promotes poverty reduction and more balanced regional development, increases energy security and greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation, and enhances biodiversity conservation.