The Seminar will start with an outline of the main challenges faced today by low, middle and higher income development countries, with emphasis on climate change. It will then describe the role, functions and business models followed by multilateral development banks, a major source of ideas and money to emerging economies, including in relation to climate change. The work of these entities will be compared with that of bilateral agencies and philantrophy, but also with that of capital markets, private equity, investment funds, commercial banks, and others. Highlight development issues include rising poverty, inequality and fragility, natural disasters, a still high and rising infrastructure and basic social services gap, poor access to finance, and in particular the effects of climate change.