CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE
Pacific Regional Presences of IFRC, UNISDR, and UNOCHA
Joint Policy Brief for Pacific Island Nations on
COP 15 Copenhagen, 7 – 18 December 2009
The December 2009 Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change (the UNFCCC
Fifteenth Conference of the Parties) will provide an unprecedented opportunity to establish
an effective multilateral framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and support
climate change adaptation. Such an outcome is essential if potentially catastrophic increases
in disaster impacts and associated poverty outcomes are to be avoided, especially in
disaster-prone developing countries and Small Island Development States.
Global and Regional Policy Context:
The close and inextricable links between climate change and disaster risk was a
leading thread at the Second Session of the
Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction
(June 2009) where political leaders, including heads of State and heads of Governments,
recognized in stark and unequivocal terms that reducing disaster risk is critical to managing
The IFRC, UNISDR and UNOCHA regional presences in the Pacific have joined
hands in preparing this briefing note for policy makers and climate change
negotiators from Pacific island countries. The policy brief highlights the importance
of reducing disaster risk in all economic sectors and at all levels as a practical
approach to adapt to climate change, reduce poverty and achieve sustainable
development targets. It also urges Pacific island countries to scale up disaster
response and preparedness at all levels since climate change is already resulting in an
increase in the number and severity of disasters which over time will overwhelm the
already limited capacities of national and local disaster management systems.
International Federation
of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
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the impacts of climate change. The overwhelming view of the Global Platform was that
urgent action is required to harmonize and link global, regional and national policy
frameworks and policies for disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation.
Therefore the Platform called to include disaster risk reduction as a concrete part of the
deal on climate change to be negotiated at the United Nations Climate Conference in
Copenhagen in December 2009. One group of countries proposed that a minimum of 30% of
adaptation financing be made available to developing countries for investments in weather
and climate related risk reduction and preparedness. This proposal is included in current
negotiations text to be discussed in Copenhagen.
At the regional level, the
Pacific Platform for Disaster Risk Management
(May 2009)
emphasized the need for stronger collaboration between the disaster risk management and
climate change communities. The Platform agreed to strengthen the integration of disaster
risk reduction and climate change adaptation through joint development and
implementation of National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) in least developed
countries, national adaptations plans in all countries and National Action Plans for Disaster
Risk Management, which are already being pursued in a few Pacific island countries. The
Platform also recommended seeking opportunities for integrating the regional policy and
planning frameworks that guide climate change and disaster risk management in the Pacific
(PIFCCAP and Madang Frameworks).
The
United Nations Development Assistance Framework (UNDAF) for the Pacific
Sub-Region
sets out the strategic focus of the UN’s support to Pacific island countries for
the period 2008 – 2012. The UNDAF makes special provisions for disaster risk reduction, the
management of response, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. Since its
endorsement the UN System has committed to linking disaster risk reduction and
management initiatives with existing and future climate change adaptation efforts through
the development and implementation of integrated programmes in partnership with Pacific
island countries to strengthen the resilience of Pacific island communities and foster
sustainable development across all sectors and at all levels, from the national to the local.
In 2007, the
International Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent
adopted a
new resolution that tasked the IFRC with “supporting National Societies in their work [on
climate change adaptation], including through representation of their interests and concerns
at the international level. The movement committed to raising awareness about the
humanitarian consequences of climate change and providing humanitarian assistance to
those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, in particular in affected developing
countries. Disaster preparedness was affirmed as a key element in the management of
response. It is in this capacity that Red Cross in the Pacific seeks to improve individual and
collective capacity to respond swiftly to the humanitarian challenges presented by climate
change and to reduce the vulnerability of communities to climate change through
community based disaster preparedness and risk reduction programmes that take a no-
regrets approach to adaptation.
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Key Messages:
•
Climate change is not a future threat: Existing levels of green house gas emissions are
already resulting in an increase in frequency and intensity of extreme weather events,
also in the Pacific.
•
A further increase in the number of disasters will overwhelm national and local disaster
managements systems in the Pacific. This challenge must be addressed by investing now
in disaster risk reduction measures and scaling up disaster response and preparedness.
•
Disaster risk reduction is a first line of defense to the impacts of climate change.
Measures to reduce vulnerability and disaster risk have been tested in the Pacific and
tools, capacities and supporting mechanisms are available for wider use in climate
change adaptation.
•
Country capacities to adapt to climate change and to reduce disaster risks need to be
strengthened promptly. Adaptation funding should be invested to build institutional,
technical and human capacities for resilient communities, especially in vulnerable small
island states in the Pacific.
•
Climate change is an additional driver of disaster risk exacerbating more conventional
risk factors such as poor urban governance, vulnerable rural livelihoods and ecosystem
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degradation. Failure to address these in an integrated manner will result in dramatic
increases in disaster risk and associated poverty outcomes. However, an integrated
approach to addressing these drivers can reduce risk, protect human development and
facilitate climate change adaptation.
•
We have solutions and the ability to implement them. The internationally agreed Hyogo
Framework for Action and its regional adaptation, the Pacific Disaster Risk Reduction
and Disaster Management Framework, provide proven tools and approaches for
building the resilience of Pacific island communities and nations.
Key Recommendations:
•
Disaster risk reduction and preparedness should be confirmed and embedded as key
elements of adaptation strategies in the final text of the Copenhagen Agreement. The
focus must remain firmly on a solution-oriented approach to proactively addressing the
unavoidable rise in risks we face.
•
We must strengthen disaster reduction, preparedness and response systems at all levels
(local, national and regional). This is essential if we are to meet the unprecedented
contemporary challenges posed by climate change risks.
•
Adaptation efforts must prioritize people and communities where vulnerabilities are
highest. Adaptation must be fully integrated into longer-term disaster risk reduction,
sustainable development and poverty reduction strategies.
•
Local level risk reduction and preparedness actions should be recognized as key
elements in adapting to climate change. The agreement reached in Copenhagen must
not only promote risk reduction at national level but also engage and empower local
people, local governments and local civil society actors.
•
Robust resource mobilization mechanisms must be developed for adaptation to ensure
the flow of both financial and technical support to local actors working on climate
change adaptation and disaster reduction and preparedness.
•
Agreement must be reached to drastically reduce global greenhouse gas emissions to
avoid catastrophes in the future.
Document Outline