Climate change in the UKOTs an overview of the ... - JNCC - Defra

“
Addressing climate change
is an opportunity for the
territories to build resilience
in the face of the inherent
vulnerabilities associated
with their size and natural
features…
”
on the environment. Therefore, ecological
changes, such as declines in populations
of some plants and animals, can negatively
affect these industries.
1.3 The time to act is now
UKOTs ought to assume that future climate
impacts will be more severe than anything
experienced to date. The scope of the
problem, the challenge of reaching global
consensus, the uncertainty of future projections
becoming reality, the question
about how much change is due to natural
variability and how much is humaninduced,
and the very practical issue of
cost should not be barriers to taking decisive
action now. No matter what the scenario
for the future of greenhouse gas
emissions, change is already underway.
The big question is, can countries and citizens
afford to do nothing in the face of
inexorable changes in climate patterns? It
is only with hindsight that we will have
18
View from St. Helena
Credit: Vince Thompson, St. Helena National Trust.
conclusive evidence, but by then it could
be too late. People and the environment
will already be confronted with the consequences
of changed conditions. Taking
action now to cap greenhouse gas emissions
and prepare for climate change
impacts will be less costly and more effective
than remedial measures in the future.
An opportunity for UK Overseas
Territories
Although climate change and its impacts
may seem daunting, there are things
UKOTs can do about them in their local
context. Addressing climate change is an
opportunity for the territories to build
resilience in the face of the inherent vulnerabilities
associated with their size and natural
features, in addition to adapting to
changing climate conditions. It is also an
opportunity for these countries to take
measures to stem future impacts as part of
a strategy of moving towards what former
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
referred to as “safer, sounder models of
development” (Annan, 2006). UKOTs have
the potential to be models of climate
change adaptation and mitigation for the
rest of the world.
A ‘win – win’ proposition
Adaptation can be a ‘win-win’ situation for
UKOTs. Targeted actions designed to
address current issues such as the need
for effective biodiversity conservation and
the reduction of vulnerability to climatic
events (for example, droughts, storms,
floods) are the first steps in the climate
change adaptation process. This approach
is based on the premise that if a country or
community is not fully able to cope with current
climatic conditions, it cannot expect to
effectively adapt to future changes in climate.
Any commitment or investment in
current needs therefore eliminates the
question of whether to invest in current
needs or climate change adaptation.