Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation
Climate change is understood as a threat to which the poor are acutely vulnerable. Microfinance services (MFS) are recognized as tools for helping to reduce the vulnerability of the poor.
In this report, we explore the possibility of linking MFS to climate change adaptation. MFS can provide poor people with the means to diversify, accumulate and manage the assets needed to become less susceptible to shocks and stresses and/or better able to deal with their impacts. Yet these links may not hold for everybody. MFS typically do not reach the chronically poor, may encourage short-term coping instead (or at the expense) of longer-term vulnerability reduction, or even increase vulnerability. These limitations and risks aside, MFS can still play an important role in vulnerability reduction and climate change adaptation among some of the poor, provided services better match client needs and livelihoods.
Participating experts
You might also be interested in
Sustainable and Resilient Value Chains: Gender Equality
How voluntary sustainability standards and private sector actors can advance gender equality and women's economic empowerment in agricultural value chains.
August 2026 | Carbon Minefields Oil and Gas Exploration Monitor
When IISD launched Carbon Minefields, we aimed to make the continued expansion of oil and gas production more visible and measurable.
From Voluntary to Binding
This report examines how sustainability standards and initiatives are integrated into public mining governance, from voluntary to mandatory use, with case studies from Brazil, Madagascar, and Sweden.
Permitting for Critical Minerals
This report examines how governments can streamline permitting for critical mineral mining projects while protecting communities, human health, and the environment. Drawing on case studies across five continents, it identifies the characteristics of efficient permitting systems and provides practical tools for improving processes.