1
A
CTION ON ADAPTATION
T
HE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE AND
REQUIRED RESPONSES
A position paper by Climate Action Network International
The Bonn negotiations 2008 must deliver substantial progress on adaptation in order to stay on track to deliver a global deal in Copenhagen in 2009.
The Bali Action Plan has put adaptation at an equal footing with mitigation in the negotiations. Without urgent action on mitigation some nation states will be unable to adapt. Strong outcomes on finance and technology are
also essential for meaningful adaptation and mitigation strategies to be achieved. Voluntary action from developed countries to support the most vulnerable and least developed countries has
been woefully inadequate to date. The costs of adaptation in developing countries alone will run into tens of billions of dollars per year: industrialised countries as donors, and carbon-market instruments implemented
under the Kyoto Protocol, have delivered only a tiny fraction of these costs
1
. The sums available are not even sufficient to implement the most urgent adaptation activities in developing countries as defined in National
Adaptation Programmes of Action NAPAs. This failure of voluntary action must be overcome in order to reach a new climate change agreement.
1. D
EVELOPING A SHARED VISION OF POST
-2012
ON ADAPTATION
A shared vision must build on the clear objective that a new global climate change agreement be adequate to tackle climate change, particularly the immediate threat posed to LDCs, SIDS and drought and flood-prone areas
in Africa. This requires significantly increased and enhanced action on adaptation by all Parties, based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities, and transcending the failure of
unfulfilled voluntary commitments. Key demands:
• All Parties, particularly developed country parties, must join forces to limit global temperature rise to well
below 2° C above pre-industrial levels. There is a limit to adaptation, beyond which the very existence of certain nation states, particularly SIDS, is threatened. In the most vulnerable countries such limits are close.
Global mitigation efforts have to be adequate to allow each country to develop effective adaptation strategies.
• There must be a vision to develop coherency in adaptation action under the UNFCCC, which includes
identifying adequate and predictable funding mechanisms that can be operationalised effectively and rapidly.
1
A rough estimate is about 1 of the expected demand, see Germanwatch 2008: Adaptation to climate change – where do we go from Bali? Briefing paper.
This paper highlights issues and demands important to reach a fair and equitable climate deal on 1.
developing a shared vision on adaptation in a post-2012 world 2.
scaling-up of effective adaptation funding 3.
adaptation and technology 4.
near-term action on adaptation before 2012
• Limit global temperature rise to below 2°C above pre-industrial levels to enable adaptation
where possible •
Integrate adaptation into the post 2012 agreement in a coherent and comprehensive manner •
Put the most vulnerable people and communities at the heart of efforts to deliver adaptation •
National governments must integrate climate risk adaptation and sustainable development policies at all levels
2 •
Countries with high actual and historic emissions as well as high capacity to meet the costs must bear the major responsibility for generating funds for adaptation. Developed countries must meet their responsibility to
cover additional adaptation financing needs in developing countries by leading on a series of domestic and international policy measures.
• Each country must take responsibility for preparing its national priorities and plans for adaptation, with
adequate financial and technical support. These plans should form the basis for obtaining funding for adaptation.
• To ensure that adaptation is effectively implemented, greater understanding and defining of adaptation, and
linking it closely with disaster risk reduction and sustainable development, is crucial. •
Developing countries accessing funds should ensure that the most vulnerable communities are at the centre of and benefit from their adaptation policies, and that these policies reflect the needs and interests of both women
and men. This is a key part of fulfilling commitments they have made to secure basic human rights of their citizens, such as the rights to food, health, water and shelter.
• Integrating climate risk management in existing national development plans and processes should be the main
approach for adaptation. Funding mechanisms to be developed under the post 2012 agreement should prioritise this approach over ‘stand alone’ funding and projects.
• Future international action on adaptation must strengthen the capacity of developing country governments,
sectors and civil society to understand adaptation needs, identify priorities and undertake adaptation actions, in order to contribute to national and local sustainable development.
2. S
