In Jordan, natural resource scarcity and import dependence mean pronounced climate change impacts are inevitable and adapting to climate change is a pressing development priority. A new World Bank diagnostic tool, The Country Climate and Development Report explores the linkages between climate and development and identifies priority actions to build resilience and reduce carbon emissions, while supporting economic growth and reducing poverty. The report indicates that Jordan’s trajectory in meeting its climate and development goals will be largely determined by policy and investment choices in five strategic sectors - water, energy, agriculture, transport and urban development. The transformation of those sectors towards a resilient and low carbon path would need to be closely coordinated along two nexuses to maximize co-benefits and to reduce potentially negative socio-economic impacts: the water-energy-food security nexus, in a context of extreme water scarcity and pressing adaptation needs, and the urban-transport-energy nexus, which is at the core of the shift towards a low-carbon growth path. Jordan will need to use a combination of avenues to leverage financing for priority climate action. Selected policy reforms to improve the management of public investment in key sectors, attract and leverage private sector financing, incentivize end-users and change behaviors, and ensure greater engagement of the financial sector will all be essential for the achievement of Jordan’s climate priorities. Equally important will be the identification of additional financing for priority investments, without which the country’s climate commitments may remain out of reach.
