Climate change is not a future possibility. It is part of the
current reality for UKOTs and the entire global community. UKOTs
are negligible producers of greenhouse gases, but are extremely
vulnerable to the effects of their increased concentration in the
atmosphere and many of them have economies that are very dependent
on climate-sensitive natural resources. It is because of this
vulnerability that the territories cannot afford to ignore climate
change or put off taking decisive action to reduce its impacts and
increase their resilience.
Even if all human-induced greenhouse gas emissions were to stop
today, UKOTs and other countries would continue to feel the impacts
of climate change for decades to come. The time that it takes for
greenhouse gases to breakdown in the atmosphere varies greatly. The
atmospheric lifetime for methane is 12 years, some
chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) can persist for more than 500 years.
However, that is not the full story. All greenhouse gases continue
contributing to global warming for years after they have broken
down in the atmosphere. This is why it is so important for the
global community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Adaptation and mitigation
In addition to producing less greenhouse gas emissions and
removing them from the atmosphere, effectively addressing
climate-induced change requires a mix of approaches and strategies
to prepare for and respond to its various impacts on both society
and nature.
Adaptation is about being ready for climate change and
responding to it by minimising the risks it presents to people’s
lives and livelihoods. It includes building capacity and putting
measures in place to cope with and recover from impacts, as well as
to live with climate-induced changes and take advantage of any
benefits they might offer. Adaptation can be done at
different levels – national, community or even individual. The
benefits of adaptation are immediate (short- to medium-term) and
often localised.
Mitigation is a means of stemming climate change impacts.
However, just as the effects of climate change felt today are the
result of actions in the past, the benefits of mitigation will not
be felt immediately. The benefits are global and will be realised
in the future, even though the costs are immediate and local.
Robust, early mitigation will reduce the cost of adaptation over
the long term (Stern, 2007). Mitigation refers to using policies
and other interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
improve the functioning of carbon and greenhouse gas sinks. While
adaptation deals with ‘weathering’ current and future impacts in
the best possible way, the idea behind mitigation is to go from
present levels of climate change impacts to reduced levels in the
future. The international mechanism for doing this is the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
This treaty and its instruments aim to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, using 1990 as a baseline year, in order to combat
climate change).
“Both and”, not “either or”
Good climate policy aims to both adapt and mitigate. Adaptation
is crucial because even the most rigorous mitigation measures taken
today will not stave off the negative effect of the warming already
in process. Unmitigated climate change at the current rate
will challenge the capacity of man and nature to adapt.
Given the small contribution the they make to greenhouse gas
emissions and the great extent to which they are affected by global
warming, the thrust towards adaptation will be greater in UKOTs
than the adoption of mitigative strategies. Even so, there is a
scope for them to promote and adopt mitigation options that
contribute to the global effort, while advancing their national
development agendas.
“Good climate policy aims to both adapt and
mitigate.”
See also
Mainstreaming Adaptation
Policy
Responses
How individuals and Businesses can Make a
Difference
The Way
Forward