Adaptation Mechanisms under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol-Where lies the hope for developing countries
Adaptation Mechanism under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol ‘Where lies the hope for developing countries’ by AKINWANDE OLUWAGBEMIGA1
It is now more than ten years that the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated as a supplement to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change. There is no better time in assessing its impact on developing countries than now. This is so because the climate crisis as it affects developing countries has transisted from Doomsday Scientific predictions to actual realities. According to a recent report2 released by the United Nations and the Africa Union, the long-term effects of climate change are already being felt in Africa. The report says precipitation patterns are changing, crops are reaching the upper limits of heat tolerance, and pastoralists spend more time than before in search of water and grazing grounds.
Again, the Kyoto Protocol will soon reach its life span3. Its impact on developing countries whether positive or negative should necessarily serve as a road map for negotiations leading to a successor protocol.
Adaptation Mechanisms: What is adaptation? Adaptation is the term given to remedial measures which might attract international reparations for the impact of climate change on poor countries. Poor countries are the most vulnerable to effects of climate change and the growing risk of natural disasters. Developing countries don’t have the resources that wealthy countries have to adapt to the impacts of climate change. This is even more so as they are cultures that rely on the land (farming and hunting) for subsistence and economic activity.
Adaptation mechanisms seek to assess the impacts of climate change and fund protects to counter the impacts of climate change. Such countering measures take the form of flood defence mechanisms, improved irrigation and drought resistant crop varieties etc.
These are 3 adaptation funds within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change (hereinafter called UNFCC) and the Kyoto Protocol that cater for the adaptation needs of developing countries. They are: the Special Climate change fund, the least developed countries fund and the Adaptation Fund
Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are parties to the protocol. It is financed mainly with a share of proceeds from project activity in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Protocol. It is a compulsory fund in that it is a levy on developed countries that carry out projects under the Clean Development Mechanism: The fund has a board called the Adaptation Board. The Fund has a board called the Adaptation Board. The fund was recently reconstituted. The new Adaptation fund, held its first meeting in March 2008. It aspires to attract a total income of $300 Million Dollars by 2012.
1. LL.B. (HONS) IGBINEDION UNIVERSITY OKADA
2. “Achieving the Millennium Development Goals in Africa” - Recommendations of the MDG Africa Steering Group published in the Nation News Paper (Nigeria) of July 8, 2008 at page 25.
3. It expires in 2012. It will be followed by a new protocol Copenhagen, Demark.
The special climate change fund is another fund within the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. It is a voluntary fund and has attracted pledges of $38 million Dollars from developed countries to date.
The next is the least developed countries fund. This fund was developed to help least development countries plan for and carry out national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAS) – It is home-grown in that it was prepared by each least Developed country (LDC). It is modest in scope. Its aim is to identify immediate and simple steps that individual communities can take to combat a changing environment. It has a received an equivalent of $42 Million dollars (US) in form of pledges from developed countries to date.
The question that arises now is whether these funds can successful cater for the adaptation needs of developing countries. The answer is No!. The World Bank estimates the total cost of adaptation to be between $10 billion dollars (US) to $40 billion dollars (US) annually. The 300 million dollars (US) that the UN’s new Adaptation Fund seeks to attract by 2012 is now more than a pinprick in the efforts to combat the already being felt effects of climate change. This is a sum that a European Country might contemplate for a single flood defence scheme.
Again, the HDR 20074 estimates that adaptation in developing countries requires the sum of $86 billion per annum, almost as much as the entire global aid budget. The global aid budget has been affected itself by the recent economic downturns in Japan and other rich nations5. Where lies the haven for developing countries? The pledges under the special climate change fund and least developed countries fund have not been redeemed.
The Adaptation funds under the Kyoto Regime is not well suited to the emergency needs of developing countries as a result of global warming. The Millennium development goals (MDG) Africa’s steering group in his report has already identified global warming as one of the obstacles in Africa’s quest to achieve the Eight Millennium Development Goals. It concluded its report6 by saying that urgent investments are needed to “Climate proof “ water management for agriculture, develop new production systems such as conservation farming, promote drought and high temperature tolerant crops, and improve social safety nets for small holder farmers. All these are at a vast expense which the impoverished continent can not muster .If the UN’s new Adaptation Fund aspires to attract just $300million dollars (US) by 2012,then the Kyoto regime is not the harbour that Africa so urgently needs .Can $300milliondollars(US) cater for the adaptation emergency needs of a continent? The answer is NO! What compounds the problem is the fact that developed countries are increasingly adopting adaptation measures. This will generally affect their contributions to the funds .The simple sure way out is to compel developed countries to increase their contributions to the funds. The burden the developed countries bear under the UNFCCC must increase .The Climate Justice Principle teaches us that because developed countries have caused the climate change we have experienced to date. The idea of making contributions to the special climate change fund and the
4. One World UK Topic Guides on Climate change at http://uk. One world; net/guides/climate change.
Least developed countries fund should be considered. The idea is more attractive because the two funds have received very small contributions from developed countries to date.
The UNFCCC did acknowledge the CLIMATE JUSTICE PRINCIPLE that rich countries alone should take initial responsibility for reducing green house gas emissions and help tackle the effects because they are the only one subject to binding targets under the protocol and are responsible for the funding of the Adaptation Fund. This principle in the light of the experience of developing countries ought to be expanded under a successor protocol.
- Adaptation measures such as provision of social safety nets for smallholder farmers and improved water management and conservation farming should be incorporated in the budget of developing countries.
These measures are purely developmental in nature. An international legal framework on climate change must acknowledge the leadership role of developed countries in this fight because they are better equipped financially and technologically to stem the tide. Though the UNFCCC8 provide that developed Countries should share new technologies and solutions with developing countries to help them reduce their own emissions. It has failed to achieve the sort of result that the world needs to develop along a low emissions pathway because of lack of commitment on the part of developed countries to transfer. Technology transfer also present legal problems for example, how will the patent laws of such countries be bypassed and whether individual patent owners will allow transfer for no consideration at all of their hard-earned right. Effective transfer of technology will in no doubt help reduce the cost of adaptation in developing countries if the modalities could be worked out.
The future of global warming rest on whether the Kyoto protocol will be followed by a more inclusive international agreement. The details have to be agreed upon by the end of 2009 to enable the logistics of implementation.
6. Ibid
7. REPORTED AT PAGE 37 OF .The Nation News paper (Nigeria) of August 11, 2008.
8. The discussion of technology transfer has been happening under the UNFCCC within the Expert Group on Technology Transfer.
About the Author
Akinwande Oluwagbenga,a Lawyer
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