The new estimate has come from the United Nations Environment Programmes (UNEP) first `Adaptation Gap Report which clearly indicates that rich countries need to give more to plug the huge funding disparity so that poor countries can adapt to the expected drought, floods and heat waves caused by climate change. The report also referred to one additional recent study that said the annual average adaptation costs for south Asia alone would be $40 billion per year by 2050. It also clearly indicated that only mitigation is not enough to save the world. The emission cut should be backed by adaptation measures which need a substantial amount of money . The UNEP report said, “The cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries is likely to reach two to three times the previous estimates of $70-100 billion per year by 2050“. Released during a crucial round of climate talks here, the Adaptation Gap Report serves as a preliminary assessment of global adaptation gaps in finance, technology and knowledge, and lays out a framework for future work on better defining and bridging these gaps. The report finds that despite funding by public sources reaching $2326 billion in 2012-2013, there will be a significant funding gap after 2020 unless new and additional finance for adaptation is made available. The remarks assume significance at a time when many rich countries like Australia, Austria, Belgium, Iceland, Portugal and Ireland have shown reluctance to spare any money for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) -a financial mechanism which is meant to help out developing and poor countries to adapt to the adverse impact of climate change. Instead of a target of $100 billion in the GCF by 2020, the rich nations have, so far, pledged only $9.95 billion by Friday with Norway announcing to provide additional $258 million to the GCF over the next four years. “As world leaders meet in Lima to take the critical next step in realizing a global agreement on climate change, this report underlines the importance of including comprehensive adaptation plans in the agreement,“ said Achim Steiner, executive director of UNEP and under-secretary-general of the United Nations. “National authorities and the international community should take the necessary steps to ensure the funding, technology and knowledge gaps are addressed in future planning and budgeting,“ he said. He emphasized that the report provides a powerful reminder that the potential cost of inaction carries a real price tag. “Debating the economics of our response to climate change must become more honest,“ he added. The findings of the report come at an inconvenient time for the developed world, which has been historical polluters. They have opposed any kind of binding agreement for an adaptation-driven narrative since it imposes significant cost burden on them.
Posted on: Sun, 07 Dec 2014 03:59:46 +0000