When it comes to the national policy and debate, rich countries take climate change very seriously, but when it comes to helping developing countries, governments hesitate.
Climate change is no longer an abstract discussion among environmental geeks. It is becoming clearer that the heavy rain, heat waves and storms are examples of what our future is going to look like.
A new analysis from the European environmental organization, EEA, shows that the majority of European countries are in the process of developing plans for how they can adapt to climate change, including new construction plans based on future sea level rise and flooding.
But the effects of climate change we see in Europe are still relatively small, compared to the situation in many developing countries.
A constant state of emergency
The effects of rising global temperature is different in the world's regions, and in some countries, people live already today in more or less constant state of emergency due to drought, hurricanes and floods.
The effect of a storm is not just about the strength of the wind. If houses are built of concrete they will still stand when the storm has passed, while fragile homes built of wood and palm leaves, will be heavily damaged by the forces of nature.
In developing countries, adaptation is not just a matter of minimizing the risk of losing investments. For many people, it's about survival and the opportunity to stay where they live. The poorest and most vulnerable people are also those who have contributed least to global warming. Yet it is those who are hit hardest.
100 billion USD in 2020
Rich countries have accepted that they have a responsibility, and have committed to support developing countries with climate finance, to enable both mitigation and adaptation action. There are many important climate projects, both to adapt to climate change and to reduce existing and future emissions of greenhouse gases. It is agreed that climate finance should be balanced between adaptation and reduction of emissions, as both elements are urgently needed. However, in practice, rich countries find it difficult to live up to this agreement. The majority of climate finance has, so far, been allocated to mitigation.
The EEA report clearly shows that adaptation is a priority. It is positive. But rich countries should also live up to their international responsibilities and do what they can to help those who suffer the most, to also be able to adapt to climate change.
Mattias Söderberg is Co-Chair of the
ACT alliance advisory group on climate change advocacy, and senior advocacy advisor at DanChurchAid, Denmark. Mattias have been following the climate debate closely since 2007, and in 2009 he was head of the Ecumenical COP15 secretariat, with the task to coordinate global participation of churches and church based organisations.
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