The 21st Century climate challenge

1The 21 st Century climate challengeDangerous climate changeis a predictable crisis thatcomes with an opportunityis not helped when editorial selection treats thetwo views as equivalent.Media coverage of climate change hassuffered from wider problems. Many ofthe issues that have to be addressed areenormously complex and inherently difficultto communicate. Some media reporting hasclouded public understanding. For example,there has been a far stronger focus oncatastrophic risk, than on more immediatehuman development threats—and in manycases the two dimensions are confused.Over the past two years the quantity ofclimate change coverage has increased and thequality has improved. But in some areas mediatreatment continues to hold back informeddebate. Sharp peaks in attention during weatherrelateddisasters or around the launch of keyreports are often followed by lengthy troughs incoverage. The tendency to focus on emergenciestoday and apocalyptic future events obscuresan important fact: that the most damagingmedium-term effects of climate change willtake the form of gradually intensifying pressureson highly vulnerable people. Meanwhile, theresponsibility of people and governments in richcountries for these pressures is a heavily underrepresentedtheme. One consequence is thatpublic awareness of the importance of support foradaptation measures to build resilience remainslimited—as does international developmentassistance for adaptation.ConclusionThe science of climate change has establisheda clear and reasonable target for internationalaction. That target is a threshold for averagetemperature increases of 2°C. The Stern reviewhas provided a powerful economic rationale foraction. The proposition that the battle againstclimate change is affordable and winnable isone that has achieved powerful traction withpolicymakers.The argument for long-run insurance againstcatastrophic risk and the human developmentimperative provide powerful rationales foraction. Mitigation of climate change poses realfinancial, technological and political challenges.But it also asks profound moral and ethicalquestions of our generation. In the face of clearevidence that inaction will hurt millions ofpeople and consign them to lives of povertyand vulnerability, can we justify inaction? Nocivilized community adhering to even the mostrudimentary ethical standards would answerthat question in the affirmative, especially onethat lacked neither the technology nor thefinancial resources to act decisively.Dangerous climate change is a predictablecrisis that comes with an opportunity. Thatopportunity is provided by negotiations on theKyoto Protocol. Under a revitalized post-2012multilateral framework, the Protocol couldprovide a focal point for deep cuts in emissions,allied to a plan of action on adaptation thatdeals with the consequences of past emissions.68 HUMAN DEVELOPMENT REPORT 2007/2008