Where governments are tackling urgent needs in, for example, healthcare, basic infrastructure or education, and where resources are at a premium, climate change may seem like a distant concern. However, studies by the World Bank make it clear that “developing countries face 75-80 percent of the potential damage from climate change” . A policy of climate change adaptation, rooted in an understanding of local risk factors and what can be done to respond to them, is therefore a vital and practical way forward.