- Email: [email protected]
After Durban: New issues on the table
Environmental Development 1 (2012) 124–125
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Environmental Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envdev
After Durban: New issues on the table Mary Scholes Secretary-General SCOPE
a r t i c l e in f o Article history: Accepted 16 December 2011
COP 17 was considered by some to deliver only superficial outcomes but the perspectives vary depending on which sector one comes from. The more important outcomes were the Kyoto protocol was kept alive with a road map being agreed on and partially defined as to the way forward; the principle of the Green Climate Fund was accepted with the majority of countries giving their pledges as well as the agreement for some financial instruments. The debate on development vs. adaptation was aired on many occasions with sentiment moving towards strong support for adaptation with the rationale being that in most developing countries, development and adaptation were synonymous and that good development was adaptation. Water quality and renewable sources of energy were widely discussed. Agriculture was on the agenda and whilst a work programme was not adopted, climate-smart agriculture was widely adopted. The global change research community needs to balance its effort more effectively between understanding earth processes and the impacts of change on one hand, and ways to adapt to and mitigate that change on the other. The latter inevitably have a social and economic dimension, so more effective engagement of that research community is critical. The avoided emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDDþ) agenda is unfolding on our doorstep, and although its direct applicability in many parts of the world is low, the regional imperatives to implement REDD þ effectively are high. Science will need to address how to define and measure emission reductions stemming from forestry initiatives. Environmental and social safeguards as well as funding instruments will need to be studied so that a stronger case can be made for these at the next COP. Land grabs were also highlighted at the meeting with evidence emerging that the majority of land grabs in Asia are taking place by Asians, whereas the majority of the land deals in Africa are by non-Africans. The deals are mostly non-transparent and often involved land held in trust by the current government of a country. Social scientists will need to work very closely with natural scientists, in the next few years, in order to provide evidence to support and expose non-sustainable and illegal land grabs. ‘‘Climate Smart’’ agriculture is climbing higher on the international priorities and is under-researched in many developing countries, which could lead to a 2211-4645/$ - see front matter & 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2011.12.011
M. Scholes / Environmental Development 1 (2012) 124–125
125
loss of market share. Ecosystem-based adaptation is an area of potential strength where some developing countries could consolidate efforts. The 7 recommendations from the Beddington Commission were widely endorsed—these point to where integrated science, working across the business, government and civil society sectors, is needed: 1. Integrate food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies. 2. Significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade. 3. Sustainably intensify agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture. 4. Target populations and sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity. 5. Reshape food access and consumption patterns to ensure basic nutritional needs are met and to foster healthy and sustainable eating habits worldwide. 6. Reduce loss and waste in food systems, particularly from infrastructure, farming practices, processing, distribution and household habits. 7. Create comprehensive, shared, integrated information systems that encompass human and ecological dimensions. The lower emissions trajectories seem increasingly unlikely in the next decades. This means a need to explore high-warming, high carbon dioxide scenarios, being particularly alert to the possible existence of tipping points or limits beyond which adaptation is unfeasible.
Contents lists available at SciVerse ScienceDirect
Environmental Development journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/envdev
After Durban: New issues on the table Mary Scholes Secretary-General SCOPE
a r t i c l e in f o Article history: Accepted 16 December 2011
COP 17 was considered by some to deliver only superficial outcomes but the perspectives vary depending on which sector one comes from. The more important outcomes were the Kyoto protocol was kept alive with a road map being agreed on and partially defined as to the way forward; the principle of the Green Climate Fund was accepted with the majority of countries giving their pledges as well as the agreement for some financial instruments. The debate on development vs. adaptation was aired on many occasions with sentiment moving towards strong support for adaptation with the rationale being that in most developing countries, development and adaptation were synonymous and that good development was adaptation. Water quality and renewable sources of energy were widely discussed. Agriculture was on the agenda and whilst a work programme was not adopted, climate-smart agriculture was widely adopted. The global change research community needs to balance its effort more effectively between understanding earth processes and the impacts of change on one hand, and ways to adapt to and mitigate that change on the other. The latter inevitably have a social and economic dimension, so more effective engagement of that research community is critical. The avoided emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDDþ) agenda is unfolding on our doorstep, and although its direct applicability in many parts of the world is low, the regional imperatives to implement REDD þ effectively are high. Science will need to address how to define and measure emission reductions stemming from forestry initiatives. Environmental and social safeguards as well as funding instruments will need to be studied so that a stronger case can be made for these at the next COP. Land grabs were also highlighted at the meeting with evidence emerging that the majority of land grabs in Asia are taking place by Asians, whereas the majority of the land deals in Africa are by non-Africans. The deals are mostly non-transparent and often involved land held in trust by the current government of a country. Social scientists will need to work very closely with natural scientists, in the next few years, in order to provide evidence to support and expose non-sustainable and illegal land grabs. ‘‘Climate Smart’’ agriculture is climbing higher on the international priorities and is under-researched in many developing countries, which could lead to a 2211-4645/$ - see front matter & 2012 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2011.12.011
M. Scholes / Environmental Development 1 (2012) 124–125
125
loss of market share. Ecosystem-based adaptation is an area of potential strength where some developing countries could consolidate efforts. The 7 recommendations from the Beddington Commission were widely endorsed—these point to where integrated science, working across the business, government and civil society sectors, is needed: 1. Integrate food security and sustainable agriculture into global and national policies. 2. Significantly raise the level of global investment in sustainable agriculture and food systems in the next decade. 3. Sustainably intensify agricultural production while reducing greenhouse gas emissions and other negative environmental impacts of agriculture. 4. Target populations and sectors that are most vulnerable to climate change and food insecurity. 5. Reshape food access and consumption patterns to ensure basic nutritional needs are met and to foster healthy and sustainable eating habits worldwide. 6. Reduce loss and waste in food systems, particularly from infrastructure, farming practices, processing, distribution and household habits. 7. Create comprehensive, shared, integrated information systems that encompass human and ecological dimensions. The lower emissions trajectories seem increasingly unlikely in the next decades. This means a need to explore high-warming, high carbon dioxide scenarios, being particularly alert to the possible existence of tipping points or limits beyond which adaptation is unfeasible.