Climate Change: Closing The Gap Between Challenges Faced by Developing and Developed Countries

Abstract

Climate change is beginning to impact the global landscape, exposing vulnerabilities across both developed and developing nations. While disparities in resources and infrastructure remain, recent events - such as the devastating rainfall induced landslides and flooding in Marlborough and in the Hawke’s Bay and Gisborne regions of New Zealand - highlight that extreme climate impacts do not discriminate. These shared experiences are fostering a new sense of urgency and solidarity, as nations across the development spectrum confront common challenges: infrastructure resilience, disaster preparedness, and the need for equitable recovery. This presentation explores the idea that climate change is closing the perceived gap between “first” and “third” world vulnerabilities, and how this convergence should be catalyzing more inclusive and cooperative response initiatives and climate action. Drawing on case studies, it argues that mutual learning, shared innovation, and equitable support mechanisms with local communities at the heart, are essential to living with climate change. It is also clear that a pre-event, whole-of-system approach is needed with up-front decision-making around risk acceptance and infrastructure prioritisation (e.g. route prioritisation in the case of roads and highways) and therefore response and recovery mitigations.