![]() ![]() That, says Lisa Schipper, an adaptation expert and associate with the Stockholm Environmnent Institute, was never the intention - at least among scientists. Instead we've been fiddling with adaptation while the planet burns. What does all this talk about transformation mean? The message is clear: the world has not yet changed radically enough to prevent dangerous levels of global warming, nor even to protect itself from the more extreme weather, gradual climate shifts and sea-level rise that are already hitting us. ![]() Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon also chimed in, calling for "transformative collective action to reduce emissions rapidly enough to limit global temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, and to strengthen resilience to the many climate impacts that are already occurring or are bound to happen". The other (aims) to seize the moment and the opportunities for managing climate change risks and making transformational change that catalyses more adaptive and resilient societies where new technologies and ways of living open the door to a myriad of health, prosperity and job-generating benefits." climate secretariat, Christiana Figueres, described the IPCC report as " a tale of two futures - one of inaction and degradation of our environment, our economies, and our social fabric. The summary of the new report on climate impacts from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes: "Transformations in economic, social, technological, and political decisions and actions can enable climate-resilient pathways." I'll come back to that in a bit. In recent days, the word "transform" has been flying around in climate circles. "Transformational adaptation" is needed when the familiar approach of "doing slightly more of what is already being done to deal with natural variation in climate and with extreme events" just isn't enough to address larger climate risks and vulnerabilities, the experts wrote in the PNAS article. It fundamentally alters a place or shifts to a different one. What’s that? It’s adaptation that is at a much larger scale or is new to a region or resource system. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) two years ago, they are all examples of what is called "transformational adaptation". What do these efforts have in common, beyond targeting the rising impacts of climate change? According to researchers writing in the U.S. Scientists collaborate to breed new varieties of drought-tolerant maize for Africa. The Netherlands devises coastal and river-flood protection schemes with a planning horizon of two centuries. Communities threatened by rising seas on the Carteret atoll in Papua New Guinea move permanently to Bougainville, the country's main island. Poor farmers regrow trees on their land in the Sahel for food, animal fodder, fuel and crop protection. Some experts say adaptation has been watered down to fit aid agendas, and it's time for a transformation * Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |