Climate change impact plans finalised by world’s poorest countries

As governments meet for the UN Climate Change Conference in Warsaw, Poland, the poorest countries of the world have completed a comprehensive set of plans to deal with the foreseeable impacts of climate change, assisted by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Global Environment Facility and other UN agencies.

All 48 of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) which are Parties to the UNFCCC have submitted their National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs) to the UNFCCC secretariat. These plans mean that poor countries will be able to better assess the immediate impacts of climate change such as drought and floods, and also determine what they need in terms of support to become more resilient to these impacts.

UNFCC executive secretary Christina Figueres points to the recent Typhoon in the Philippines as evidence of the worsening extreme weather events around the world and argues that the poorest and most vulnerable countries urgently need stable finance and technology to become more resilient. Ms Figueres also stated that the support to these countries is poor and needs to be improved.

Through the NAPAs, poor countries have both identified their immediate adaptation needs and formulated concrete projects to meet those needs. For instance, Angola is looking to adapt its fisheries to climate change; Cambodia is looking to make its water supplies and agriculture more resilient; and Samoa is seeking to build up the infrastructure of its tourism dependent communities.

The preparation of these plans has created a catalyst for climate change action in the poorest countries, helping them to systematically undertake various activities towards climate change adaptation. Awareness of the issue has been raised across all levels and poor countries have been able to utilise an increased amount of human and institutional capacity for their adaptation strategies.

Whilst the NAPAs focus on immediate, short term adaption needs, LDCs are now starting to go about formulating ‘National Adaption Plans’ (NAPS) which take a more comprehensive approach, integrating adaption into national planning to address medium to long term needs. Like the NAPAs, the NAP process receives technical guidance and support from the UNFCCC’s Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG).