Nairobi: Nearly half of the global population is now highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. That includes everything from rising sea levels, drought and more frequent and more intense weather events that threaten lives, livelihoods, and homes.
“Crucially, we must now recognise the worsening symptoms of our warming, faltering planet — and react immediately by helping countries to adapt to the increasingly devastating effects of climate change,” said United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator Achim Steiner on Monday.
“This need for rapid action is amongst the key conclusions of a landmark new report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the United Nations (UN) body for assessing the science related to climate change.”
The IPCC report, entitled ‘Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability’, argues that continuing to ignore the science will put people and planet in peril like never before.
Yet it also offers solutions. Climate adaptation — measures to protect lives and livelihoods, and biodiversity — must be elevated and placed at the very core of global climate action efforts.
The commitment at COP26 in Glasgow to double adaptation finance — from $20 billion to at least $40 billion per year — is an urgent priority and a good first step, but more concerted efforts will be needed.
In particular, UN Secretary-General AntAnio Guterres has been “pushing to get to 50 per cent of all climate finance for adaptation”. Investment in climate resilient development is needed more than ever and at a greater scale.
“UNDP is committed to continue using the IPCC findings as the scientific basis for our climate action. Our programmes will carefully build on the data provided by the report so that our support to countries on adaptation can evolve, shift and grow as needed,” Steiner said in a statement.
“Over 96 per cent of the 120 developing countries that UNDP has supported with its Climate Promise have enhanced their adaptation ambitions in their Paris Agreement pledges. The Climate Promise is part of wide-ranging efforts by the organisation to provide more support to vulnerable communities who are living on the frontlines of climate change.
“Over the past two decades, UNDP has supported developing countries, including Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States, to implement their adaptation priorities — from enhancing food security to increasing the protection of ecosystems to rolling-out vital early warning systems,” he said.
“I echo the call by the UN Secretary General that every country must honour the Glasgow pledge to increase their climate ambition to align with the objectives set by the Paris Agreement and limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels,” Steiner added.
The “Africa COP” in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in November will be a key moment to accelerate climate action. “However, we cannot wait that long to instigate the level of change necessary. We need governments, particularly in developed countries, to rapidly curb their emissions and scale up support for climate adaptation; and for citizens to demand climate action now from their governments. We also need the international community to equitably deliver the level of climate finance that has been agreed upon but not yet fulfilled,” he added.
(IANS)
