1. INTRODUCTION

“Climate change is a major development issue that needs to be addressed urgently. Unless global warming slows down, the incidence of droughts and floods will likely increase, vector-borne diseases will probably expand their reach, and many ecosystems, such as mangroves and coral reefs, will likely be put under great strain. In short, achievements in the fight against disease, hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation risk being unravelled by climate change.”

UN Millennium Project¹

Climate change already happens, and will continue in the decades to come. Without preventive action and adaptation to climate change, human life and the global environment may suffer great costs. By acting now, the costs are considered marginal compared to the costs of inaction. To reduce the negative impacts of climate change, action is therefore needed.

Climate change resulting in climate variability and extreme weather conditions is a potential cause of human and economic losses and impeded development opportunities. In particular, people in many developing countries are vulnerable due to poverty. The impacts of climate change mainly occur within agriculture, forestry, water supply, physical infrastructure, and human health. Climate change can undermine economic opportunities, increase poverty, and lead to migrations due to natural disasters and uncertain living conditions.

Because of climate change, the outcome of development cooperation and investments in developing countries can be undermined. By taking climate change into consideration, development cooperation can be ’climate proofed’.² This will help protect investment of scarce development resources and foster climate-friendly development. Therefore, integration of climate change concerns into planning and implementation of development cooperation is wise policy and will support developing countries in coping with climate change.

Climate change is a result of complex natural and human interactions. Consequently, climate change is surrounded by considerable uncertainties. As for economic development, assessments therefore must be made to determine future trends. Assessment of risks and possible impacts from projected changes to the global climate becomes increasingly important in national planning, and specific regional predictions are often available for the use of planning and implementation of development cooperation. Lack of precise data is, however, no excuse for not addressing the challenge of climate change.

The Danish ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is a response to the need to address climate change in the context of development. The Action Programme, inter alia, is a follow up to the ’EU Action Plan on Climate change in the Context of Development Cooperation’, which was launched by the European Council of Ministers in November 2004.

Through the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’, climate change concerns will be integrated into Danish development cooperation where relevant. ’Climate Change’ is not a new crosscutting theme for Danish development cooperation. Climate change, however, will be addressed as a challenge linked to the crosscutting ’environment’ theme in Danish development cooperation. For this purpose, the Action Programme is set up as an integral part of the Danida Aid Management Guidelines (AMG).

The main target group of the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is the staff working with development cooperation in the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) in Copenhagen, at Danish Embassies in partner countries, and at Danish missions and embassies accredited to multilateral organisations. The Action Programme is also aimed at stakeholders in partner countries, i.e. governmental institutions, both at national and local levels, and other organisations involved in programme implementation, such as non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and civil society, the private sector, and academic and research communities.

The Action Programme provides tools for climate change screening and guidance for actions in relation to Danish development cooperation. A website for the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is developed to support the implementation of the Action Programme.

¹) Reference: http://www.unmillenniumproject.org/reports/int_actions4.htm

²) See glossary for definitions of terminology.