GreenMicrofinancing

Asian Pacific Regional Microcredit Summit / Bank Indonesia Annual International Seminar: Macroeconomic Impact of Climate Change

The Microcredit Summit ended late on Wednesday evening and the Macroeconmic Seminar began on Thursday evening and of course, it was being held in the hotel next door. Suddenly I found myself transported from a land microcredit and NGOs to one of bankers, academics and economists. Talk about a ‘mind bending’ experience! Both were great events, but talk about different.

The good news is that both groups really recognize and acknowledge that climate change is a ‘clear and present danger’ and will have a devastating impact first and foremost on those most vulnerable, the poor. The bad news is that while recognizing the problem, neither group had any ‘magic solutions’ but neither do our ‘fearless’ leaders!

But of course it wasn’t without some fun, even with bankers and economists believe it or not. On Friday evening we traveled to Uluwatu temple where we saw another performance of Garuda (the Indonesian Airline) the magic bird and the transportation vehicle of the Hindu god, Vishnu. That performance was followed by an ultra-modern Indonesian group, complete of course with electric guitars, exotic musical arrangements and 24^th century electronic fiddle; what a treat!