Transcript Conference on Climate Change Impacts on the Caribbean June

Regional perspectives on policy and planning for climate change
Mr. Franklin McDonald
Conference on Climate Change Impacts on
the Caribbean
June 15th - 17th, 2007
POLICY RESPONSES TO CLIMATE
CHANGE RISKS & CHALLENGES
F J McDONALD
UNEP CEP/RCU & UWI ISD
[email protected]
Consensus?
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Climate change is a significant environmental, economic and
social issue in the Wider Caribbean Region.
Its direct impacts include changes in temperature; rainfall
intensities, distribution and amounts; and sea level. Indirect
impacts from severe weather and drought, etc are not yet fully
understood but are likely to be negative.
Societal implications for public health, crop yields, food security
and the performance of economic sectors such as tourism,
agriculture, financial services are poorly understood. Its
implications for livlihoods and revenue generation at the local,
national and regional levels and for critical sectors is also not
fully understood.
Caribbean societies have demonstrated limited capacity for
assessing and responding to such emerging issues and trends
hence Climate Change presents a special cluster of challenges
to the public good and the strategists, policy and decision
making communitty at regional, national and sectoral levels.
GLOBAL - LOCAL Issues
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GLOBAL
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UNFCCC / IPCC + MEAs
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Hyogo Framework on Risk Reduction
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MDGs + SIDS BPOA / Mauritius Strategy
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Issues / Challenges: ST Contribution .. Peer
Review Process .. Model Building capacity ..
Knowledge Demands on Climate and Global
Systems .. Misinformation campaign by Fossil Fuel
players .. SIDS / Group of 77 Tensions .. “Canary”
Consortia (AOSIS Re Insurers Arctic collaboration)
Significant capacity challenges have been
addressed. Increased consensus regarding the
CRISIS!
Regional – National Rollout
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HEMISPHERIC / REGIONAL
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Facilitating Actions
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REGIONAL CAPACITY Evolution
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Incongruence in Hemispheric / Regional / Political /
Technical Organs
DEVELOPMENT PARTNERS Support
WMO + Academic + Research Networks structures
STRATEGIES Based on Shared Risk Exposures
CPACC / MACC Focal Activity
ISSUES
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Further policy initiatives via ACS / ECLAC etc
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National (in)security, trade, migration, livelihoods
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Convergence of Risk Reduction Agendas
National – Local Rollout
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STATUS of NATIONAL Strategies, Policies,
Programmes and Projects, ACTION Plans?
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Capacity Issues – ST; Governance; Resarch
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Scale Issues
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Scaling down GLOBAL SYSTEMS / MODELS
Resilience
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TOURISM, Agriculture, Energy Supply,
Revenues, Livlihoods, Coastal+ Infrastructure
Mainstreaming
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Investment, Development, Culture
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Private Sector, Civil Society and Societal norms
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Hyogo Risk Reduction Framework
National and Local Action
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Public Awareness
Partnerships
Policy and legislation
Resource Mobilization incl Funding
Institutional Arrangements
Benchmarks and Indicators
Implememtation / Enforcement
Application of Studies
 UNEP 1989 Climate Change Review as an example
 National Communications
Developing / Evolving Risk
Averse Disaster (Sensitive)
Culture (nb High Social Science role
And interdependency!)
2: Rhetoric
1:
Inception
Public outcry
After incident/
disaster)
/ Bawlout
Advcacy
3
Logic +
Analysis
ST Investment
4:
Policy +
Laws +
Implemen
- tation
5:
Mainstreaming
via Culture +
Enforcement
Planning Processes must …
• Cover credible scenarios, events and incidents, their
mitigation and their potential consequence(s)
– Large, medium and small scale
– Natural / Man induced / High / Low Probability
– Effects on Human, Natural, Social and Economic
systems (not just Capital Assets)
• Include “Extension” style Communication and Information
Management catering to all levels
• Protect people, property, natural resources, physical
assets
• Be based on systematic planning and a phased response
• Cover all phases including return to ‘normalcy’
• Be part of MAINSTREAM / CORE Functions of government
and its Private / Civil Society Partners in Small Island
States
New Challenge:
Reducing Climate Change Risk = Protecting
the SOCIETY / Livelihoods / the ECONOMY
• TOURISM / AGRICULTURE / REVENUE STREAMS
• CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE .. Sea Defense Works
• FINANCIAL SECTOR
• MARINE SERVICES
• GLOBALISED WORLD .. Manage Chain of Supply Issues
including INFORMATION / PERCEPTIONS
Effective coping systems
Sensitisation / Vulnerability Awareness / Capacity Building systems
must involve a chain of actors and processes
 Narrow “technical” conceptions of such systems leave weak links in the
chain where failures occur (eg Warning System failures in Haiti 2004,
Indian Ocean Tsunami 2004?)
 “Mainstreamed” = ‘infused’ into education and culture as well as the
business and livelihood related societal value systems.
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Shared Societal
Knowledge of the
risks faced by
Communities = Risk
‘Culture’
‘Technical’
awareness =
zoning, safer
built env; &
monitoring +
Alert / Warn’g
Services
Wide Formal
and Informal
Diffusion/
Dissemination
of Useable risk
info products
Knowledge and
capacity for timely
threat adaptation,
mitigation, loss
reduction action
(pre, during, post
incidents) at
appropriate levels
RESILIENCE BUILDING: A Societal Safety Chain?
Challenges
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Knowledge Gap
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Continued need for Research and Knowledge at all
scales
Capacity Gap
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Climate Change challenge for Public Policy, Social and
Resource Management Agencies
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Enterprises and Private Sector Managers
Implementation Gap
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Are we fully utilising ALL the existing knowledge
regarding Climate Change Impacts to increase
RESILIENCE at all levels in all sectors?