Climate action needed to promote economic growth and poverty reduction in Dominican Republic

The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for the Dominican Republic finds that projected climate change impacts could jeopardize some of its development gains.

A report released today by the World Bank highlights the potential of climate action to promote economic growth and poverty reduction in the Dominican Republic. To achieve its net-zero emissions target by 2050, the Dominican Republic will need to undertake more ambitious mitigation and decarbonization efforts across all sectors of its economy. This includes implementing actions to lower pollution, protect biodiversity, enhance public health, and creating green jobs in agriculture, energy, and tourism.

The World Bank Group’s Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) for the Dominican Republic finds that projected climate change impacts could jeopardize some of its development gains. Climate change is expected to have a significant impact on people's health, infrastructure, and natural ecosystems like forests and coastal areas by 2050. In some cases, crop yields could decrease by up to 30 percent, and poverty rates could increase. Without adaptation measures, the country could stop generating up to 16.7% of its GDP in relation to a scenario without the impacts of climate change. This would be caused primarily by lower tourism demand, more tropical storms and flooding, and reduced labor productivity due to higher temperatures caused by climate change.

The report highlights that the Dominican Republic can meet its climate and development objectives together, benefiting both the Dominicans and the economy, despite high financing needs.

“Dominican Republic 2030 Vision has climate and development at the center with a focus on carbon neutrality, reducing the economic and fiscal impacts of climate change, protecting its infrastructure and ensuring a better future for its people,” said Alexandria Valerio, World Bank Representative for the Dominican Republic. “The World Bank will continue to support the country’s efforts to make the economy more resilient, reduce vulnerability and accelerate decarbonization of the economy.”

As electricity is the largest contributor to the country’s emissions, the report recommends measures for a low-carbon development pathway, including replacing coal-based power generation, investing in renewables, and decarbonizing transport and industrial processes. It also suggests improving practices in agriculture, forests, and land use, and reducing emissions in the waste sector.

“The private sector has an indispensable role to play in the Dominican Republic’s coordinated transition to a more resilient, inclusive, and low-carbon future,” said Carolina Cárdenas, Resident Representative for the Dominican Republic and Haiti at the International Finance Corporation (IFC)—the private sector arm of the World Bank Group. “Based on this premise, IFC is supporting the development of the country’s green taxonomy, a framework designed to help investors and companies make informed investment decisions on sustainable economic activities using the same agreed terminology.”

Private capital will be essential to meet DR’s climate-financing needs, leveraging the new Private Public Partnership framework for investment in infrastructure, and tourism, exploring available catastrophe credit lines and bonds, increasing insurance coverage in agriculture, developing affordable microinsurance products for low-income households and promoting greater use of technology in risk assessment.