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RICH
countries, which have contributed by far the most to the
climatic changes linked to global warming, will have to
do more to protect the poorest nations from catastrophic
reversals in health, education and poverty reduction
brought about by climate change, according to the UN’s
Human Development Report (HDR) 2007 released November
27.
Kevin
Watkins, lead author of the UN’s HDR 2007 titled
“Fighting Climate Change: Human Solidarity in a Divided
World,” said rich countries should work hand in hand
with poor countries to address and implement adaptation
and mitigation strategies to truly fight climate
change.
“Rich
countries must reach out to developing countries by
helping their adaptive capacity through the transfer of
technology and financial support,” Watkins told
BusinessMirror during the prelaunch interview of the HDR
2007 in New Delhi early this month. “The world cannot
afford that
developing countries repeat the mistakes in the
development of industrialized countries.”
According to the report, simultaneously launched in
Brasilia, Brazil and in cities around the world on
Wednesday, industrialized countries should support a new
$86-billion global annual investment in substantial
international adaptation efforts to protect the world’s
poor.
The
world’s richest countries have a historic responsibility
to take the lead in balancing the carbon budget by
cutting emissions by at least 80 percent by 2050, the
report said.
Developed countries should also adopt a new mechanism to
transfer clean-energy technology to developing
countries. The Report argues that with the support of
such measures, developing Asian countries—especially
fast growing and industrializing countries like China
and India—should also play their part with total
emission cuts of at least 20 percent by 2050.
“The
poorest countries and its people with the fewest
resources are likely to bear the greatest burden of
climate change in terms of loss of life and relative
effect on investment and the economy,” Watkins said.
As the
climate changes, poor people are being forced to cope
with increasing climate shocks and long-term risks—and
the price of doing so is likely to leave their prospects
for human development bankrupt, the new UN report said.
“Even if
stringent emission cuts are put into place now, two
thirds of the world’s poor that live in Asia will be
increasingly vulnerable to rising temperatures. They
must be given meaningful assistance now to adapt,”
Watkins said in the report.
The UN’s
HDReport 2007 lays out a definitive checklist for all
political leaders meeting in Bali next week (December 3
to 14), a pathway for a binding and enforceable
post-2012 multilateral agreement that will be essential
to buttress our planet and its poorest people against
the worst impacts of climate change.
On the
other hand, Jasper Inventor, Climate and Energy
Campaigner of Greenpeace Southeast Asia, said there is
still time to avert the worst impacts of climate change
“if we act decisively now.”
He added
that it is important for Asean nations to ensure the
success of the negotiations during the
Bali climate change summit.
“Asean
nations can make a huge contribution to the global
efforts to avoid the worst impacts of climate change
through effective coping strategies and disaster
preparedness in the region,” Inventor said.
Inventor
told BusinessMirror that the Philippines must start
reducing its dependence on fossil fuels, particularly
coal, for its energy source. The country must embrace
renewable energy and promote energy efficiency to cut
carbon dioxide emissions by as much as 30 percent by
2050.
“And to
achieve this, it is imperative that the government
implement policy mechanisms, such as a strong Renewable
Energy Bill, to initiate the change,” Inventor stressed.
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