BY DIRRIBA TESHOME
The year 2020 was not only the year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also the year of intense consequences of climate change like high temperature, flood, drought, storm, wildfire and even locust swarm.
Even more worryingly, the world is heading for at least a 3°C temperature rise this century according to the United Nations Environment Program Adaptation Gap Report of 2020.
This article focuses on planning, implementing, types and financing adaptation to cope with the worsening climate change. We need strong action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to meet the Paris Agreement goals of holding global warming this century to well below 2°C and pursuing 1.5°C. This would limit the impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and ecosystems.
Adaptation holds the key. Nations must urgently step-up action to adapt to the new climate reality or face serious costs, damages and losses.
Adaptation – reducing countries’ and communities’ vulnerability to climate change by increasing their ability to absorb impacts and remain resilient – is a pillar of the Paris Agreement. The agreement requires all signatories to plan and implement adaptation measures through national adaptation plans, studies, monitoring climate change effects and investment in a green future.
The UNEP Adaptation Gap Report of 2020 looks at where the world stands in planning, financing and implementing adaptation actions. It finds that while nations have advanced in planning, more financing is needed to scale up adaptation projects so they can help protect against climate impacts such as droughts, floods and sea-level rise. Public and private finance for adaptation must be stepped up urgently, along with faster implementation.
The report also calls for an increase in nature-based solutions – locally appropriate actions that address societal challenges, such as climate change, and provide human well-being and biodiversity benefits by protecting, sustainably managing and restoring ecosystems.
Even amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the world must also plan for, finance and implement climate change adaption measures or face serious costs, losses and damage.
There is no doubt – adaptation makes economic sense. The Global Commission on Adaptation in 2019 estimated that a USD 1.8 trillion investment in adaptation measures would bring a return of USD 7.1 trillion in avoided costs and other benefits.
Achieving the 2°C target of the Paris Agreement could limit losses in global annual growth to up to 1.6 per cent, compared to 2.2 per cent for 3°C.
While COVID-19 and its economic fallout has seen adaptation fall down the political agenda, at the same time, pandemic recovery and stimulus packages could lead to a more climate resilient and low-emission recovery if implemented well.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 celebrates the global progress that been made on adaptation over the last decade. But further ambition and action, backed by finance, is urgently needed.
Planning for adaptation is progressing, although nature-based solutions are lagging. As temperatures rise and climate change impacts intensify, nations must urgently step up action to adapt to the new climate reality or face serious costs, damages and losses, the 2020 edition of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report finds.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 found that 72 per cent of countries have adopted at least one national-level adaptation planning instrument, while a further 9 per cent are developing one. Most developing countries are preparing National Adaptation Plans.
More than half of countries have added nature-based solutions to their Nationally Determined Contributions – as climate pledges under the Paris Agreement are known. However, most of these describe broad goals and less than a third includes measurable targets.
On a promising note, at least half of National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans, which countries develop under the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, emphasize nature-based solutions in reducing the vulnerability of species and ecosystems to climate change and other pressures.
Finance for nature-based solutions should be strengthened and diversified. As temperatures rise and climate change impacts intensify, nations must urgently step up action to adapt to the new climate reality or face serious costs, damages and losses, the 2020 edition of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report finds.
Annual adaptation costs in developing countries alone are estimated at USD 70 billion. This figure is expected to reach USD 140-300 billion in 2030 and USD 280-500 billion in 2050. An increase in financing will be critical for countries to meet their adaptation goals.
There have been encouraging developments in the private financing. An analysis of four major climate and development funds – the Global Environment Facility, the Green Climate Fund, the Adaptation Fund and the International Climate Initiative – suggested that support for green initiatives has risen over the last two decades.
Cumulative investment for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects under the four funds stood at USD 94 billion. But, only USD 12 billion of this funding was spent on nature-based solutions.
The Green Climate Fund has allocated 40 per cent of its portfolio to adaptation and is increasingly crowding-in private sector investment.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2020 recommends tools such as sustainability investment criteria, climate-related disclosure principles to stimulate investments in climate resilience.
Finance for nature-based solutions should also be strengthened and diversified through mechanisms that combine public and private sources of funding.
Natural solutions to climate change like ending deforestation and restoring habitats can create 80 million jobs and lift 1 billion people out of poverty globally.
Healthy ecosystems can reduce the negative impacts of climate change. For instance, coastal habitats like mangroves provide natural flood defenses, well-protected lakes retain water sources during droughts, and healthy forests reduce the risk of devastating wildfires.
Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is an approach that uses these ecosystem services as part of a holistic adaptation strategy. Often through win-win outcomes, EbA protects vulnerable communities from extreme weather while simultaneously providing a variety of ecological benefits so crucial for human well-being, such as clean water and food.
Though primarily an adaptation approach, Ecosystem based Adaptation (EbA) can also contribute to climate change mitigation by reducing the emissions that transpire from habitat loss and ecosystem degradation.
EbA is an approach that uses ecosystem services as part of a holistic adaptation strategy. Often through win-win outcomes, EbA protects vulnerable communities from extreme weather while simultaneously providing a variety of benefits so crucial for human well-being, such as clean water and food.
Implementation of nature-based solutions has been growing. But there is an urgent need to gather more evidence on the outcomes of adaption projects worldwide. As temperatures rise and climate change impacts intensify, nations must urgently step up action to adapt to the new climate reality or face serious costs, damages and losses, the 2020 edition of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report finds.
Implementation of nature-based solutions has been growing worldwide for the past two decades. Since 2006, multilateral funds serving the Paris Agreement have backed around 400 adaptation projects in developing countries, half of which started after 2015. The majority focus on agriculture and water, with drought, rainfall variability, flooding and coastal impacts.
There has been an increase not only in the number of projects, but also their size. While earlier projects rarely exceeded USD 10 million, 21 new projects have reached over USD 25 million since 2017. The Green Climate Fund, Least-Developed Country Fund and Adaptation Fund have together reached more than 20 million direct and indirect beneficiaries.
However, an extensive analysis of adaptation actions surveyed in scientific articles showed that the majority was in early stages of implementation; only 3 per cent were able to report on bringing real reductions to climate risks. The report demonstrates an urgent need to gather more evidence on the outcomes of adaption projects and initiatives worldwide. It also recommends that countries adopt stronger implementation to avoid falling behind.
Therefore, ecosystem based adaption should be the key focus to enhance the existence of human beings and human needs as climate change increases. And finance for nature-based solutions should be strengthened and diversified.
The Ethiopian Herald January 20/2021
