Transcript Humanitarian implications of Climate Change How

Update on the Work of the
IASC Task Force on Climate Change
How Humanitarian Organisations Engage in the
Climate Change Negotiations and in Mainstreaming
Adaptation into Policies and Operations
IASC weekly meeting, 18 February 2009
By Jette Michelsen/IFRC
Coordinator, IASC Task Force on Climate Change
Key impacts - IPCC 4th Assessment Report
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Frequency and intensity of climate hazard
events such as storms and floods
Likelihood of drought and desertification
Changes in morbidity patterns for diseases
Long term sea-level rise
Humanitarian need, lower coping capacity
Food insecurity, migration, resource conflicts
Less predictability
Major impacts on global systems
Humanitarian implications
• The effects of climate change are already
straining the disaster relief system
• Around 70% of disasters now climate related – up
from 50% from two decades ago (OCHA)
• In 2004-2008 the number of Red Cross/Red
Crescent National Society responses rose from
279 to 675, while Emergency Appeals rose from
28 to 32. Increase in localised national disasters,
not major disasters (IFRC)
Why humanitarian organisations engage
• Humanitarian expertise will be essential in
ensuring that action on climate change reaches
the most vulnerable.
• Humanitarians organisations will need to upscale
disaster preparedness, disaster risk management
and early warning systems
• Humanitarian organisations to factor in how
issues such as migration, displacement, conflict
or food security will influence adaptive capacity
UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC)
• A new global climate change agreement to be
signed in Copenhagen in December will enter
into force in 2012 and is likely to last until
2020.
• Climate change perceived primarily as an
environmental issue
• Growing awareness of humanitarian and
developmental implications of climate change
Mitigation and Adaptation
• Climate change debate has focused on
environmental aspects and on mitigation:
How to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to
avoid climate change
• At COP 13 (2007) the Bali Action Plan put
climate change adaptation on the UNFCCC
agenda
Adaptation Strategies
• UNFCCC focus on national adaptation
strategies, including NAPAs
• Integrated partnerships between
development and humanitarian actors to
support appropriate national level adaptation
roadmaps will be essential
• Local coping strategies and protection of
livelihoods will be key
Institutional mechanisms and funding
for developing countries to adapt
• International financial mechanism under the
UNFCCC or existing funding channels?
• Funding additional to ODA, cf. Bali Action Plan
• New source of funding: levies on greenhouse gas
emissions
• Effective disbursement mechanisms at country
level - important to ensure that funding
addresses the risks facing vulnerable countries
and communities
IASC engagement
Focus:
Adaptation, disaster risk reduction, displacement and
overall humanitarian consequences of climate change
Mandate of the IASC Task Force:
a. Lead the preparation of high-quality analytical inputs to
the UNFCCC process
b. Provide guidance as appropriate to the IASC on
integrating climate risk management into agency
policies, operations and relevant guidelines and tools
Climate Change Conference in Poznan
COP 14
• IASC agencies jointly raised awareness of
humanitarian impacts of climate change
• Risk management and risk reduction
acknowledged as key components of adaptation
action
• Hyogo Framework for Action - existing framework
• Climate change recognised as a trigger of
migration and displacement
• IASC and ISDR recognised as sources of technical
advice by the UNFCCC secretariat
Submission papers to UNFCCC
“Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies and Risk
Management Practices: Critical Elements for Adaptation
to Climate Change” (IASC/ISDR):
• Recognise the necessity and relevance of disaster risk
reduction strategies and risk management mechanisms.
• Build upon existing strategies and mechanisms for disaster
risk reduction and risk management.
• Ensure that substantial and additional human and financial
resources are available for disaster risk reduction and risk
management.
Submission papers to UNFCCC
“Climate change, migration and displacement: Who will
be affected?” (IASC)
• Take account of, and manage, the humanitarian consequences
of climate change, including protecting those who may move as
a result.
• Launch a dialogue among Member States on how to fill existing
and foreseeable legal, operational and capacity gaps associated
with climate change and human mobility, and to allocate
sufficient additional funding to this issue from both climate
change specific funding mechanisms and ODA.
• Recognize that significant further research and analysis is
needed
Submission papers to UNFCCC
“Climate change, migration, and displacement: impacts,
vulnerability, and adaptation options” (IOM, UNHCR,
UNU, NRC, RSG on the HR of IDPs)
IASC Task Force on Climate Change
Work plan 2009
Advocacy and outreach to States Parties:
• Engage in the UN climate change negotiations
at global level: technical input to UNFCCC
Parties
• Improve messages to decision-makers on
numbers of affected/displaced and the
humanitarian costs of climate change
• Share examples of successful adaptation and
coping strategies at country level
IASC Task Force Work plan 2009
Communications/media outreach
• Subgroup on communications led by OCHA, with
UNHCR, FAO, WHO, IFRC, RC/RC Climate Centre, NRC,
OHCHR and WFP
• Better communicate the IASC position to inform the
UNFCCC negotiation process
• Conduct sustained media outreach to highlight the
humanitarian consequences of climate change
IASC Task Force Work plan 2009
Regional and country level consultations
• Involve IASC member organisations and the
relevant governmental counterparts to
strengthen climate change adaptation at
national and regional level
• National disaster management platforms to
inform the ISDR Global Platform in June on
best practices in integrating climate change
adaptation and DRR
IASC Task Force Work plan 2009
Improve analysis and action on migration and
displacement
• Lack of scientifically verified estimates of
climate change-related displacement
• OCHA/IDMC study on Disaster-Related Forced
Displacement
Opportunities for IASC engagement
• 23-26 March: Scoping meeting for a proposed
IPCC Special Report on “Extreme events and
disasters: Managing the risks“
• 15-19 June: UNISDR Global Platform for
Disaster Risk Reduction
• 06 - 31 July: ECOSOC - IASC side event (TBC)
• 31 Aug – 4 Sept: World Climate Conference 3
UNFCCC - Towards COP 15
• State Parties shift into full negotiating mode
during 2009 in order to advance all elements of
the Bali Action Plan
• First negotiation text for discussion by the Ad Hoc
Working Group on Long-Term Cooperative Action
at its upcoming sessions in April and June 2009
• IASC perspective: Sense of urgency & need
for new climate change agreement to take
account of humanitarian impacts.
Thank you!