Research Reports on Global
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Adaptation: An Overview of
the World Business Council
for Sustainable Development
By: Alfred Birtz
Climate change will have significant impacts
on populations
and environments around the world. Furthermore, it is likely that
in the
absence of concerted efforts to mitigate greenhouse emissions, climate
change
will have negative effects on business and global markets. It will
likely lead
to a change in existing business models and current risk management
structures
(1).
On 05 August 2008, the World Business Council for Sustainable
Development
(WBCSD) released a brief titled, Adaptation: An Issue Brief for
Business.
The WBCSD examines the impact of climate change as well as possible
adaptations
and mitigation techniques that are available. Bleak outlooks on
the
impact of climate change to some of he poorest of economic areas of the
world
highlight this report. On a human and ecosystem level it is
estimated
that upwards of 250 million people in Africa alone could face water
shortages
as well as up to a fifty percent decrease in rainfall fed agriculture
by the
year 2020. From a socioeconomic standpoint, this would lead to
increased
conditions for drought and famine, large scale migration, large scale
increase
in disease susceptibility, and increase in conditions that could lead
to global
conflicts.
The increase in global temperatures will continue to lead to stronger
weather
cycles such as El Niño. This will only increase the
frequency and
magnitude of global extreme weather events. There must be a
combined
strategy between mitigation and adaptation. It is widely accepted
that
green house gasses (GHG) have led to in increase in average global
temperatures. Mitigation would not prevent the impacts that will
be felt
due to climate change. However, it
will
have a positive impact and reduce the risk and magnitude of climate
change as a
whole. Adaptation would also not allow us to prevent the impacts
that
will be felt from climate change, however, it will help us to prevent
society
and businesses against events such as drought, famine, hurricanes, or
flooding
(2).
The WBCSD reports that even though the certainty of climate change
causes
possible harm to the business community, it also opens up new
opportunities. For example, energy and utility companies are
facing a
crunch due to increase global temperatures which are placing stress on
the
system, however, there are now many opportunities for the increase in
“green”
energy and the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy
sources.
Business adaptation, while helping to maintain stable revenues will
also help
to mitigate climate change impact in the long term.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations Adaptation Fund (UNAF) was
established (3). This fund helps those in developing countries
finance
adaptation projects in order to better prepare themselves for climate
change. The funding for this program is not on a voluntary basis,
but is
instead levied on industrialized countries as Clean Development
Mechanism
(CDM). The CDM allows industrialized countries to purchase carbon
credits
and then two percent is passed onto the UNAF. Projects and
development
such as this will only better prepare people globally for the impacts
that will
be felt due to climate change.
(1)Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Fourth Assessment
Report,
Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report, Summary for
Policymakers, 17 November 2007.
(2)http://www.wbcsd.org/DocRoot/2W6pIkEp3ra0vRDXZ961/Adaptation.pdf
(3)United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) Fact
Sheet for COP13 Meeting: The Need for Adaptation.
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