Climate Change

Summary of Reading Materials

Submitted to:
Dr. Rashed Uz Zaman
Course ID: MDP 629
Course Title: Global Issues in Sustainable Development
Submitted by:
Md. Nadim Rahman
Student Id: 13169002
Date of Submission: 16 September, 2013
MDMP, FALL 2013
BRAC Development Institute
The key point addressed in chapter 20 of the paper Perspectives on climate change
and sustainability (2007) is that vulnerability to specific impacts of climate change will
turn most severe when it is measured along with stresses from other non-climatic
sources like poverty, uneven access to resources, food security, environmental
degradation, natural hazards etc. Climate change is the only direct driver whose
extent and importance to a series of regions, ecosystems and resources is likely to
continue to grow over the next several decades. Coping with climate change impacts
and promotion of sustainable development intersect in terms of their goals and
determinants like equity in access and distribution of resources, availability of human
and social capital, access to risk-sharing mechanisms and abilities of decision-
support mechanisms. Even some development initiatives are seen to worsen
climate-related vulnerabilities. Climate change adaptation is often overlooked in
development programmes because links between sustainable development and
climate change have historically been defined primarily in terms of mitigation.
Specific policies and programmes, individual initiatives, participatory planning
processes and other community approaches can reduce vulnerability to climate
change but vulnerability reduction efforts will not be sufficient to eliminate all
damages associated with climate change. Climate change has the potential to hinder
progress of nations and societies through the trails of sustainable development.
Climate change will be a significant hindrance to meeting the MDGs over the long
term as stresses from climate change will grow over time. Combination of adaptation
and mitigation measures might be effective for a certain period but not in the long
run. Future impacts of climate change are dependent not only on the rate of climate
change, but also on the future social, economic and technological state of the world.
Priority should be given to - expanding understanding of the synergies in and
obstacles to simultaneous progress in promoting enhanced adaptive capacity and
sustainable development; integrating current development works and climate-change
communities more closely; searching common ground between spatially explicit
analyses of vulnerability and aggregate integrated assessment models; developing
new decision-support mechanisms that can identify vigorous coping strategies even
in the face of uncertainties.
Pachauri (2008) emphasizes on the application of sustainability science in his paper
on Climate change and sustainability science. He promotes that the IPCC model of
using knowledge and science to shape public policy can be applied to address other
stresses besides climate change. The problem of climate change is only a small part
of the problem of unsustainable development. The basic issue is that the world has
grown and developed in a manner that is not sustainable. Therefore it is necessary
to look at how development can be made sustainable. Indeed, climate change
provides an opportunity for the practical application of sustainability science which
examines scientific, engineering and social science aspects of a problem. It is
important to have multidisciplinary themes that look at a particular subject in its
entirety and from different angles. Otherwise, the big picture might be missed.
Problems which can make a difference both locally and globally must be solved
together. It is absolutely essential to see that developed countries take the lead in
setting an example. The authors personal view is that it is the time to start
questioning fundamentals and ethics.
The IPCC synthesis report (2007) on climate change provides an integrated view of
climate change. It discusses observed changes in climate and their effects on natural
and human systems, causes of the observed changes, projections of future climate
change and related impacts under different scenario, adaptation and mitigation
options and their interactions with sustainable development, and relationship
between adaptation and mitigation. Major findings of the report are as follows:
Warming of the climate system is explicit, as observed through increases in
global average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and
ice and rising global average sea level.
Observational evidence from all continents and most oceans shows that many
natural systems are being affected by regional climate changes, particularly
temperature increases.
Recent warming is strongly affecting terrestrial biological systems like earlier
timing of spring events (such as leaf-unfolding, bird migration and egg-laying)
and poleward and upward shifts in ranges in plant and animal species.
Changes in marine and freshwater biological systems are associated with
rising water temperatures, as well as related changes in ice cover, salinity,
oxygen levels and circulation.
Other effects of regional climate changes on natural and human environments
are emerging, although many are difficult to discern due to adaptation and
non-climatic drivers.
Sea level rise and human development are together contributing to losses of
coastal wetlands and mangroves and increasing damage from coastal
flooding in many areas.
Apparent human influences extend beyond average temperature to other
aspects of climate, including temperature extremes and wind patterns.
Anthropogenic warming and sea level rise would continue for centuries due to
the time scales associated with climate processes and feedbacks, even if
GHG concentrations were to be stabilized.
Anthropogenic warming could lead to some impacts that are abrupt or
irreversible, depending upon the rate and magnitude of the climate change.
Adaptive capacity is intimately connected to social and economic
development, but it is not evenly distributed across and within societies.
Changes in lifestyle and behaviour patterns can contribute to climate change
mitigation across all sectors. Management practices can also have a positive
role.
Policies that provide a real or implicit price of carbon could create incentives
for producers and consumers to significantly invest in low-GHG products,
technologies and processes.
Both synergies and trade-offs exist between adaptation and mitigation
options.
Successful agreements for reductions of global GHG emissions at the
international level through cooperation are environmentally effective, cost-
effective, incorporate distributional considerations and equity, and are
institutionally feasible.
Responding to climate change involves an iterative risk management process
that includes both mitigation and adaptation, taking into account actual and
avoided climate change damages, co-benefits, sustainability, equity and
attitudes to risk.
Neither adaptation nor mitigation alone can avoid all climate change impacts.
Adaptation is necessary both in the short term and longer term to address
impacts resulting from the warming that would occur even for the lowest
stabilization scenarios assessed. Adaptation and mitigation can complement
each other and together can significantly reduce the risks of climate change.
Efforts to mitigate GHG emissions to reduce the rate and magnitude of
climate change need to account for inertia in the climate and socio-economic
systems.
In order to stabilize the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, emissions
would need to peak and decline thereafter. The lower the stabilization level,
the more quickly this peak and decline would need to occur.
Mitigation efforts over the next two to three decades will have a large impact
on opportunities to achieve lower stabilization levels
The macro-economic costs of mitigation generally rise with the stringency of
the stabilization target and are relatively higher when derived from baseline
scenarios characterized by high emission levels.
Impacts of climate change will vary regionally. Aggregated and discounted to
the present, they are very likely to impose net annual costs, which will
increase over time as global temperatures increase.
Many impacts can be avoided, reduced or delayed by mitigation.
Sustainable development can reduce vulnerability to climate change, and
climate change could impede nations abilities to achieve sustainable
development pathways.
Making development more sustainable can enhance mitigative and adaptive
capacities, reduce emissions, and reduce vulnerability, but there may be
barriers to implementation.