Climate Change Adaptation Louise Collett Climate Change Advocacy Coordinator Oxfam Australia

Climate change is happening now “every year climate change leaves over 300,000 people dead, 325 million people seriously affected … Four billion people are vulnerable, and 500 million people are at extreme risk.” Global Humanitarian Forum Anatomy of a Silent Crisis

Adaptation is necessary No matter what level of mitigation is achieved, adaptation will be a priority. The impacts of climate change are already being felt. Impacts include destertification, displacement, more frequent and instense storms, droughts, flooding and disease outbreaks, rising sea levels. Developing countries are most vulnerable to climate change impacts. Thus, adaptation will be most necessary in these countries where resilience to climate impacts is already low, there are fewer resources available and communities are generally more reliant on the environment.

So what is adaptation? Actions or activities to accommodate, cope with or benefit from the effects of climate change. It is about building resilience, particularly in the communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts. For example, building sea walls, flood-proofing houses, better early warning disaster systems, planting different crops, etc. And how much will it cost? A lot! Although exactly how much is difficult to determine A recent World Bank Report estimates the cost of adaptation in developing countries to be between US$ billion per year from 2010 to 2050.

Who needs to pay? Under Art 4 of the Convention, developed countries must assist developing countries to meet the costs of adaptation. Why is this? –Historic responsibility –Capacity –Equity Developing countries bear over nine-tenths of the climate change burden, and the 50 least developed countries contribute less than 1% of global carbon emissions.

How is adaptation funded? There are a range of channels currently available –Three funds are overseen by the UNFCCC, operated by Global Environment Facility (GEF) (housed by the World Bank): GEF Trust Fund LDC Fund. Provides money for development and implementation of National Adaptation Programs for Action (NAPAs) Special Climate Change Fund –The Adaptation Fund. Set up under the KP, receives 2% of CDM revenue –Bilateral arrangements. For example, Australian election commitment of $150M for high priority adaptation needs in the Asia Pacific region ( ). BUT…

Status Quo isn’t working Developed countries have not delivered on the obligations Huge financial shortfall –Not enough money has been pledged in the first place. –Of the $843.5M pledged for the GEF funds, only $399.8M has been received and only $128.3M disbursed. Institutional problems with access to the funds –GEF operated funds are too complicated, money cannot be accessed easily by developing countries. Adaptation Fund not yet fully operational, but clear that money won’t be sufficient.

What’s next? As with financing generally, financing for adaptation is becoming a major sticking point in the negotiations. By and large there is not money on the table. Developed countries generally have yet to put proposals forward. EC has proposed spending 2-15billion Euros per year by This is insufficient and is not all over and above ODA. Oxfam wants a commitment to a transparent, accountable Global Fund with a mechanism to raise at least US $50 billion per year. There is a need for much better governance arrangements for any new or existing financial mechanism.

What do we need to see in an agreement? Recognition of urgency of finance requirements Predictable, reliable, adequate funding that is over and above ODA targets The following principles reflected in the adaptation text: –Focus on the most vulnerable countries, communities and people –Rights-based and community based approach –Transparent, participatory and inclusive decision-making –Environmentally sound and sustainable actions An international insurance risk mechanism Recognition of unavoidable loss

More information All NAPAs are on the UNFCCC website. World Resources Institute. Weathering the Storm: Options for Framing Adaptation and Development Oxfam, Beyond Aid: Ensuring adaptation to climate change works for the poor Oxfam. Suffering the Science: Climate Change, People and Poverty UNDP. Adaptation to Climate Change: the New Challenge for Development in the Developing World, Briefing Document Global Humanitarian Forum. Human Impact Report. Climate Change: Anatomy of a Silent Crisis. UNFCCC. Climate Change: Impacts, Vulnerabilities and Adaptation in Developing Countries - Effectively dealing with climate change in developing countries, 2007.