Earth Today | UNEP report notes progress in adaptation planning, but…
THE UNITED Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has noted global progress in the planning for climate change adaptation in the last year, but says small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LDCs) still need a leg up.
“The Paris Agreement recognises that LDCs and SIDS are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change and have significant capacity constraints …,” noted the UNEP's latest Adaptation Gap Report, published last year.
“While SIDS and LDCs are performing on par with the global average in most areas, in other areas, for example, subnational plans, M&E (monitoring and evaluation), policy instruments and, in the case of SIDS, vertical coordination and central administrative bodies as well, they are lagging behind by 10 per cent or more,” it added.
The Adaptation Gap Report 2021 is the sixth edition of the UNEP report and provides an update on current actions and emerging results of regional- and national-level adaptation planning and implementation across the world.
At the same time, the report revealed that while SIDS are outperforming the world in terms of stakeholder engagement, “overall … it is clear that SIDS and LDCs continue to require support to advance their adaptation planning”.
Adaptation, which refers to measures taken to alter ecological, social or economic systems in response to climate threats and impacts, has long been championed as vital for in particular SIDS, given their high level of vulnerability to impacts, including sea level rise and extreme weather events, including hurricanes and droughts.
LOBBYING TO RESTRAIN GLOBAL WARMING
SIDS have also lobbied for best efforts to restrain global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, given what is at stake.
“The Caribbean's human settlements, climate-sensitive economic sectors and rich biodiversity are already highly impacted by climate change. If globally countries are unable to meet the target of keeping temperatures below a 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold, the vulnerability of Caribbean SIDS will be exacerbated, and impacts are likely to be even more acute,” warns researcher Professor Michelle Mycoo in her 2017 paper, 'Beyond 1.5 degrees Celsius: vulnerabilities and adaptation strategies for Caribbean Small Island Developing States'.
Those impacts, as Mycoo noted, span a variety of sectors, including health, tourism, agriculture and fisheries, among others. There are also a range of environmental vulnerabilities.
“The Caribbean region is one of 35 of the world's biodiversity hotspots and ranks third internationally in endemism, so that it is exceptionally important for global biodiversity conservation. SIDS biodiversity and ecosystem services are strongly shaped by both local geography and social-ecological dynamics. If the 1.5 degrees Celsius temperature warming is exceeded, environmental resources will be at risk,” the researcher noted.