A new year for climate change: opportunities for 2015
written by Alicia Okeyo
A new year for climate change: 2015 opportunities
Every new year presents new beginnings, new resolutions and zealous new efforts for tackling challenges. One such challenge, and a pressing battle for 2015, is climate change. Climate change affects us all and in all aspects of life. It affects development goals, poverty reduction, food security, energy production, and disaster risk management. Climate change thus affects our capacity as individuals and societies to realise the New Year’s resolutions and goals that we wish to achieve. Will 2015 be the year that we as a global society make a significant impact on climate change mitigation and adaptation? According to Pacific Standard’s Brian Palmer (2015), there are many opportunities to make an impact on the climate change front this year; a few key opportunities arising from the recent United Nations climate talks in Lima, Peru. Various global events and initiatives happening in 2015 suggest that this year may indeed contribute something special to the struggle against climate change. The following are just a few ways that progress can be made this year:
The Doha Deal – A bridge to a new climate regime?
The Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol relates to the second leg of commitments to the international emission reduction treaty that was presented at the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar (COP18/ CMP8). The United Nations is continuing to encourage countries to ratify the amendment as a crucial part of climate change action leading up to the year 2020. So far only 21 countries have ratified the Doha Amendment – far from the UN target. ) The UN states that a total of at least 144 acceptances are needed for the amendment to enter into force. The Doha Amendment aimed to launch a new period of commitment to the Kyoto protocol in 2012 to ensure important international laws and models accounting for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are maintained. According to The Guardian’s Michael Jacobs, the Doha Amendment aimed to ensure that developed countries lead the action to reduce GHG emissions in the quest of limiting global warming to 2°C. The amendment precedes a more comprehensive agreement that is hoped to be finalised by the end of 2015. However, after three years and little support to the Doha Amendment, 2015 presents an opportunity for the development of a global agreement that is effective enough to maintain the 2°C warming limit, allowing all governments to show initiative and leadership in pursuing this agreement. There is a need for climate change to become a moral crusade for the governments of the poorest nations (that are most affected by climate change), giving these nations a share of “climate justice, which is a platform for proper expression and demand equity,” Jacobs said.
New heights for carbon commitments
The new global agreement from COP20 in December 2014 relates to having a sustained global effort for reducing carbon emissions over the next ten years, which will definitely be in the spotlight in 2015. Following what was the hottest year on record, countries are expected to submit a comprehensive plan for reduction of carbon emissions starting from early this year. These plans are to be developed under a strict number of requirements – an improvement in regulations that will see several countries held far more accountable for their emission activities in future. That includes South Africa that had previously specified impressive carbon emission reduction goals, but against an unspecified baseline. In addition, Palmer mentioned that more accurate and detailed plans, in accordance with the carbon commitments specified at the Lima conference (with a clearly defined baseline for each country) will allow scientists to model the potential outcomes of the pledged emission reduction goals, and to assess whether targets will be reached or weather a follow-up pledge will be needed at COP21 in Paris, France in 2015. Therefore, it seems that better planning and increased foresight may be the trend that drives climate change action in 2015.
The Adaptation Knowledge Initiative
Knowledge gaps are one of the key hindrances to effective adaptation to climate change, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). The Initial National Communications (INC) in Mozambique (2003) as well as the Second National Communications in Botswana, both state the awareness of climate change issues and especially adaptation to climate change in most rural communities is very poor. This is further exacerbated by a high level of illiteracy in the majority of these communities. Following COP20, UNEP aims to prioritise these significant knowledge gaps as an effective method for addressing relevant climate change adaptation issues in rural communities. UNEP launched their Adaptation Gap Report at COP20 as a summary of what is lacking in terms of knowledge development and dissemination. Through their Global Adaptation Network (GAN), UNEP is implementing the Adaptation Knowledge Initiative to help initiate responses to sub-regional, context specific adaptation knowledge needs, under the overarching mandate of the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. The Adaptation Knowledge Initiative is an ‘action pledge’ under the NWP, which functions as a catalyst to facilitate the development and dissemination of knowledge and information for informing adaptation policies and programmes in communities. It is essentially a knowledge hub that provides relevant institutions with resources and expertise to respond to adaptation knowledge needs. Through this initiative, 2015 may be the year of improved behavioural adaptation to climate change in local communities. 2015 also presents the opportunity for raising awareness about climate change issues that are especially important in communities on the African continent.
On the home front
The South African government has already shown commitment to climate change adaptation and has launched several initiatives for the dissemination of climate change knowledge and to raise awareness about climate change issues. Part of these initiatives are a number of climate related events and conferences hosted in South Africa. The South African International Energy Conference 2015 hosted by the South African National Energy Development Institute (SANED) and the Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st century (REN21) this year, will allow for the South African renewable energy sector the opportunity to generate public interest, and to gain insight from other participants at the conference. Other sectors have also begun stepping up, in hopes to create a platform for the discussions and conscientization on climate change issues in South African communities. For example, the energy sector will be hosting the Power-GEN Africa Conference and Exhibition in Cape Town in mid-July, which will provide comprehensive coverage of energy needs, resources and issues facing the electricity generation industries across sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, ACDI’s very own Student Conference on Climate Change and Development, set to take place this March, also presents an opportunity to bring students from the University of Cape Town and across South Africa to share their insights and research findings on issues of climate change, and therefore broadening their knowledge base. The leveraging of research capital and professional expertise at these and other such events is crucial to ensuring a constant circulation of new knowledge and techniques for climate change adaptation action.
Thus, it is through seemingly small actions; the building of networks and information channels that 2015 may allow climate change issues to seep further into mainstream culture and not simply a topic for scientific researchers. Great opportunities to address the issue of climate change presents itself, but support must be pledged not only to the big changes, such as global protocols, amendments or financial pledges; but also to climate change mitigation and adaptation as city and especially as a community based action. Local people need to be aware of climate change issues, and there needs to be an accessible means of communicating this knowledge to them. Climate change issues need to, essentially, have a more public face; and 2015 presents the opportunity to achieve both that, as well as the more complex commitments that were pledged during 2014.
Thumbnail from: http://www.ycareinternational.org/2015/01/01/y-care-international-joins-global-action2015-campaign/