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Adaptation to Climate Change
and Equity
Saleemul Huq
saleemul.huq@iied.org
T he
problem of human induced climate change or global warming is perhaps the
most important global environmental problem facing the world today. That
the problem is real and growing is abundantly supported by the science
as presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
through its various reports over the years. The international policy
making community has also recognised the importance of the problem and
the need to take corrective action to prevent "dangerous interference"
with the world’s climate system through the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) which has been signed and ratified
by practically all the countries of the world (including the Untied
States of America).
However, the
first few years of the negotiations on action to prevent such dangerous
interference had focused on the need to reduce the growing emissions of
man-made greenhouse gases or "mitigation". This culminated in the Kyoto
Protocol, which set targets for reduction of emissions of greenhouse
gases from the rich countries of the world. Although the US originally
agreed to the Kyoto Protocol it later withdrew, along with Australia.
One of the arguments used by the US in withdrawing from the Kyoto
Protocol was that it was "unfair" to the US since it did not require the
developing countries (such as China and India) to accept targets for
reductions of greenhouse gases even though those countries were likely
to become major emitters in the near future. The argument was based on
the notion of "equity" ( or the lack of it) in "burden sharing" of the
costs of mitigation.
However, the
problem of climate change is not only one of greenhouse emissions but
also one of impacts of global warming and thus the responses required to
deal with the problem must include both (longer term) efforts to reduce
emissions as well as (shorter term) efforts to cope with the impacts (or
"adaptation"). The notion of equity is, arguably, even more central to
the effort to adapt to global warming as the impacts are likely to fall
disproportionately on the poorest countries of the world (as well as the
poorest communities in all countries, whether rich or poor). It is
precisely these countries and communities who have contributed the least
to the past emissions of greenhouse gases, which is currently driving
global warming. It is also becoming increasingly clear that the adverse
impacts of climate change in the near term (over the next decade or so)
are almost impossible to prevent, even by the most drastic cuts in
emissions. Hence adaptation to climate change has to become a major
plank of the strategy to deal with the problem of climate change.
Recent events
such as the heat wave in Europe in 2003 which resulted in over 20,00
premature deaths (mostly of the elderly and vulnerable) as well floods
in China and Bangladesh 2004 add to the evidence that climate change is
not only a problem that will occur in the distant future but may already
be upon us.
This is being
increasingly recognised in the international climate change negotiations
where the seventh Conference of parties (COP7) held in Marrakech,
Morocco in 2001 created several new funds (as part of the "Marrakech
Accords") for helping developing countries adapt to the impacts of
climate change. These funds are purely voluntary and have so far
attracted only small amounts of funding from a few rich countries (such
as Canada and Europe). They will need to be considerably enhanced if the
poorer countries are to be genuinely helped to adapt to the impacts of
climate change.
Adaptation
and Equity
As the
climate change negotiations go forward beyond the Kyoto Protocol the
issue of equity and fairness in the negotiations, especially with regard
to adaptation will have to play a more significant role. Equity issues,
with respect to adaptation are important at several different levels:
i.
International negotiations
The international negotiations relate
to notions of "procedural equity" in which the voices of the poor
countries need to be given due importance (which is not always the case
in international negotiations, which tend to be dominated by the
powerful countries). In the climate change arena this pertains to such
issues as defining terms such as " dangerous interference" or "burden
sharing". These beg the questions: Dangerous to whom? Or whose burden?
International assistance to whom? They require that the voices of the
poorest countries and communities be given explicit recognition and
importance in framing any future regime on climate change.
ii. National
level
At the national level also issues
of equity are paramount in developing policies and actions to adapt to
climate change. As the most likely victims of adverse impacts of climate
change in all countries will be the poor and disadvantaged it will be
necessary to ensure that efforts to adapt to climate change within
countries is targeted at those communities. Given that in many
countries, specially the developing countries, such disadvantaged
communities do not have much say in ongoing policy making and
governmental actions, it will be necessary to ensure mechanism are put
in place for them to be specially targeted to receive external
assistance to adapt to climate change. In this respect the National
Adaptation Plans of Action (NAPAs) currently being undertaken in 49 of
the least developed countries (LDCs) is an opportunity to ensure that
the voices of the poor and most vulnerable are incorporated in the NAPAs.
iii. At
local level
The poorest communities often live in
the most climatically hazardous areas within any country (e.g. flood
plains or dry lands) and are already disadvantaged in terms of access to
existing resources. Efforts, therefore, have to be made at engaging with
communities and actors at the local level to enhance their ability to
adapt to future climate change as well as current climate impacts. At
this level it makes little sense to differentiate the impacts of human
induced climate change from that of natural climate variability as
enhancing adaptation to the latter will also enhance adaptation to the
former.
Ultimately,
the adverse impacts of climate change (at least in the near term) will
happen whatever efforts are made to reduce emission, and those impacts
will have to be borne by the world’s communities, including the poorest
and most disadvantaged ones, whether they like it or not. The world
community at large, and those most responsible for the past emissions in
particular, therefore have a moral responsibility (if not yet a legal
liability) to do whatever they can to help these countries and
communities to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This is the only
hopeful way forward for the world and is primarily a matter of global
equity and justice.
q
The author is
Director, Climate Change Programme,
International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED),
London, UK.
References
-
Adger, N.,
M. J. Mace, J. Paavola and J. Razzaque, Justice and equity in
adaptation, Tiempo, IIED, July 2004 www.cru.uea.ac.uk/tiempo
-
IPCC, Third
Assessment Report, IPCC, Geneva, 2001 www.ipcc.ch
-
Kyoto
Protocol, UNFCCC, www.unfccc.de
-
Marrakech
Accords, UNFCCC, www.unfccc.de
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