Thanks to a groundbreaking new program that relies on advanced satellite technology, a weather index insurance payout of unprecedented scale will benefit poor African farmers.
Tag: index insurance
Breaking the Poverty Trap in Ethiopia: Subsistence, Satellites, and Some Other Important Stuff
Two acres of cracked earth. In northern Ethiopia, it can be a trap that keeps farmers tethered to it for generations. Or it can be a springboard to a better life for this and future generations. What impedes it from showing its springier qualities? You could argue the biggest pressure on the land comes from the sky above it.
Insuring Against Drought
Research economist Dan Osgood discusses index insurance and how it is helping some poor rural communities reduce hardships caused by drought in East Africa.
Economics of Climate Change: Example from Ethiopia
Experts from Swiss Re, Oxfam America, and the International Research Institute for Climate and Society recently participated in a panel discussion at Columbia recently on weather index insurance for climate change adaptation. The event, organized as part of efforts to support Climate Week in New York, was sponsored by the New York Committee for Oxfam [...]
New report: Reducing climate risks with index insurance
We know climate has always presented a challenge to farmers, herders, fishermen and others whose livelihoods are closely linked to their environment–particularly in developing countries. A type of insurance called index insurance shows some promise as a climate-risk management tool, according to the latest Climate and Society publication from Columbia’s International Research Institute for Climate [...]
Using Insurance in Adaptation Efforts
If the recent Conference of the Parties in Poznan, Poland was any indication, next year’s buzzword in the climate-change community will be climate risk insurance. “Dealing with insurance is of fundamental importance in order to meet adaptation objectives,” said UNFCCC Secretary General Yvo de Boer. “If you can’t get insurance because climate change makes you [...]
