trocaire-climate-change-report-2014

Recommendations

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Feeling the Heat Mtuwa village in Chikwawa, southern Malawi, one of the most vulnerable regions to the impacts of climate change. Credit: Alan Whelan/ Trócaire. change, including health burdens, energy demand and infrastructure could be equivalent to a loss of almost 3 per cent of GDP each year by 2030. 16 In most developing countries, climate change is likely to raise income inequality and reduce household wealth. The Stern Report on the economics of climate change estimates that it would be up to 20 times cheaper to prevent further climate change as opposed to dealing with the economic costs of inaction. 17 vi
Recommendations Recommendations If the logic of the Stern Report does not compel us to act, the sheer injustice of the human suffering which is occurring in the case studies featured in our report should. The poorest women and men are already suffering impacts at current levels and will suffer further as temperatures continue to rise – as they will inevitably do, no matter what we do next. The people who have done least to cause the problem are bearing the brunt of inadequate action to date to both mitigate and support adaptation. They need our support now and into the future. However, we also have a critical choice to make about what future we want for the youth of today and the next generation. If we act now, urgently and ambitiously, temperatures increases can be contained and will begin to level off. A failure to do so will see global poverty eradication becoming impossible and inequalities spiralling. We have a choice – but we must act now. The following recommendations set forth what Trócaire believes is needed in order to prevent and respond to the worst effects of climate change. For a detailed list of recommendations see page 36. 1 We must establish a fair, legally binding framework on climate change that keeps global temperature rises as far below 2°C as possible, and ensures that the most vulnerable women and men can adapt to the impacts of climate change. An international agreement is essential to ensure co-ordinated and collective action – we all need to work together. All eyes are now fixed on the 21 st UN Climate Change Conference in Paris in December 2015 (COP21), at which all the nations of the world have committed to negotiating a binding universal agreement on climate change. This action must also be replicated at the national level, with effective climate legislation here in Ireland. by adopting ambitious targets and adaptation measures. While the threat of climate change may seem overwhelming, there is broad consensus that responding to it adequately is both achievable and affordable. 18 The impacts of climate change are already being felt, and even with emission reductions we are ‘locked-in’ to a certain inevitable amount of future climate change. A just climate agreement must also ensure the provision of sufficient, accessible and additional public finance to support communities to adapt in appropriate ways to the impacts of climate change. 2 We must switch to more sustainable ways of producing and consuming, in particular energy and agriculture. An emissions framework as above provides the overall limits within which countries can operate. Actually delivering upon the changes necessary to meet these targets requires a transition in the way we produce and consume, particularly in the areas of agriculture and energy. Agriculture accounts for almost a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions globally; in Ireland, this share is even higher. We need to improve our land management so that nutrients are restored to the soil, and to re-examine our diets and the level of waste in food supply chains - the FAO have estimated that up to one-third of food produced for human consumption globally is lost or wasted, from initial agricultural production down to final household consumption. 19 In terms of energy, there is no alternative but to transition to a world free from fossil fuels. In order to contain temperature rises as far below 2˚C as possible, more than two-thirds of current commercially viable fossil fuels will need to remain in the ground. 20 It is critical that policies are designed with adequate social and environmental safeguards to ensure that they do not result in unintended impacts on the rights and resilience of vulnerable communities. Limiting temperature rises to no more than 2°C above pre-industrial times has been adopted by the international community as the threshold necessary to avoid the most dangerous impacts of climate change. In order to achieve this, policy makers must achieve the ‘best case scenario’ vii
Page 1 and 2: Feeling the Heat How climate change
Page 3 and 4: Contents Foreword.... ... ... ... .
Page 5 and 6: Foreword Foreword Climate change is
Page 7 and 8: Executive Summary Executive Summary
Page 9: Executive Summary farmers, especial
Page 13 and 14: 1: Introduction and Overview Introd
Page 15 and 16: Introduction and Overview including
Page 17 and 18: The Philippines temperatures in the
Page 19 and 20: The Philippines It only took a few
Page 21 and 22: The Philippines agricultural produc
Page 23 and 24: Honduras 3: Honduras In brief: High
Page 25 and 26: Honduras Without adaptation and mit
Page 27 and 28: Honduras Constantino Varela of the
Page 29 and 30: Kenya 4: Kenya In brief: Vulnerable
Page 31 and 32: Kenya be 0.26-0.55 metres. For the
Page 33 and 34: Kenya malaria transmission are affe
Page 35 and 36: Malawi 5: Malawi In brief: Temperat
Page 37 and 38: Malawi It’s 5am in Kanyera villag
Page 39 and 40: Malawi distribution, land degradati
Page 41 and 42: Ethiopia 6: Ethiopia In brief: Mass
Page 43 and 44: Ethiopia Figure 1 Projected changes
Page 45 and 46: Ethiopia areas as compared to men e
Page 47 and 48: Ethiopia 6.11 Summary of Findings I
Page 49 and 50: Conclusions and Recommendations pro
Page 51 and 52: Conclusions and Recommendations Con
Page 53 and 54: Endnotes Philippines,1582 to 2009.
Page 55 and 56: Endnotes Vulnerability. 127 Githui,
Page 57 and 58: Endnotes 205 Shongwe, M. E., van Ol
Page 60:
Working for a just world Trócaire,
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