The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) urged communities
across the globe to get to grips with adapting to climate change,
saying the current deficit in adaptation makes it imperative to
adapt now.
The UNEP made the appeal here on Tuesday at a press conference
for issuing a report Assessments of Impacts and Adaptation to
Climate Change (AIACC).
"Adapting to better manage current climate risks is an essential
step towards adapting to future climates," said the AIACC project
report.
The AIACC project is a global initiative developed in
collaboration with the UNEP and the Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC), and funded by the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) to advance scientific understanding of climate
change vulnerabilities and adaptation options in developing
countries.
The report underlines that factoring climate into development
strategies is do-able, but that in some cases hard choices may have
to be made.
"2007 has, as a result of the work of the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), been a year in which the science of
climate change has reached a finality -- it is happening, it is
unequivocal," said Achim Steiner, U.N. under-secretary and UNEP
executive director.
"2007 has also seen clear and cost effective strategies for
cutting greenhouse gas emissions put on the table from improved
energy efficiency in buildings to ones that address deforestation
and agriculture," he added.
"One of the big missing links has been adaptation, both in terms
of adaptive strategies and in terms of resources for vulnerable
communities. This assessment, involving experts across the
developed and developing world, lays a solid and much needed
foundation -- a foundation upon which adaptation can become part of
country development plans and built into international assistance
including oversees development aid," said Mr. Steiner.
Monique Barbut, chief executive officer and chairperson of the
GEF, said, "The GEF has a long history working with the world's
most vulnerable countries that want environmentally-friendly ways
to adapt to changing climate without sacrificing key development
goals".
"As this wide sweeping assessment shows first hand, we are
moving forward in a very focused way to weave adaptation strategies
into daily practices," she added.
"Adaptation to climate hazards is not new," said leading author
Neil Leary of the International START Secretariat in Washington D.
C., who along with the Academy of Sciences for the Developing World
in Trieste, Italy have executed the project.
"People have always been at risk from the climate and have
continually sought ways of adapting. Still, variations and extremes
of climate regularly exceed abilities to cope, too often with
devastating effect, and give evidence of what has been called an
adaptation deficit," he said.
"Reducing emissions of the gases that cause climate change is
necessary. But adaptation is necessary too," he added.
The report makes recommendations for climate change adaptation,
including creating conditions to enable adaptation, integrating
adaptation with development, increasing awareness and knowledge,
strengthening institutions, protecting natural resources, providing
financial assistance, involving those at risk, and using
place-specific strategies.
The AIACC project was implemented over the period 2001-2007 and
24 assessments were executed in Africa, Asia, Latin America and
Small Island States. Multi-institutional teams of more than 300
scientists, stakeholders and students from 50 developing countries
conducted the assessments.
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(Xinhua News Agency December 4, 2007)
