3. THE “TWO LEG” APPROACH IN CLIMATE AND DEVELOPMENT

Efforts to address climate change must “walk on two legs”. The one leg is to support adaptation to climate change. The other is to enhance mitigation of climate change.

1. Adaptation to climate change includes measures for adjusting to the impacts of climate change and managing the risks.
   
   
2. Mitigation of climate change includes policies and measures to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. In principle, mitigation efforts have the same effect on stabilizing atmospheric GHG concentrations in the atmosphere irrespective of where in the world such efforts are carried out.

While adaptation is a ’cure’ to alleviate negative impacts and mitigation is ’prevention’, it is adaptation that is most closely linked to poverty reduction and the development agenda. Thus, in accordance with the principle of common, but differentiated responsibilities⁶, developing countries often emphasize adaptation to climate change as the key concern for which financial support is needed, and argue that industrialized countries should continue to take the lead in mitigation.

3.1 Adaptation to Climate Change

Adaptation is the management of risks and vulnerability associated with climate change and extreme weather events. UNDP has defined adaptation to climate change as: “a process by which strategies to moderate, cope with, and take advantage of the consequences of climate events are enhanced, developed and implemented”.

According to the IPCC, adaptation is “adjustment in natural or human systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli or their effects, which moderates harm or exploits beneficial opportunities.” Both definitions include the possibility of adaptation to take advantage of positive events due to climate change.

In practical terms, a number of actions exist to adjust to, or avoid the impacts of climate change. Adaptation options include:

• Protection against sea-level rise, where possible, including salt-water intrusion in water supply.
• Strengthening primary health care as a response to changes in distribution of vector borne diseases.
• Changes in design specifications and building codes to address climate change and more frequent extreme weather conditions.
• Rehabilitation of natural ecosystems, e.g. mangroves as a barrier against violent storms and floods.
• Construction of infrastructure to stand higher level of water run-off, e.g. wider bridges and larger culverts in roads, or reduced construction demands if less precipitation is anticipated.
• Risk adjustments to address variations in crop production in agriculture, e.g. use of more robust crop varieties and access to crop insurance.
• Management of water resources in order to maintain access to water and alleviate risks of drought or protect against floods.

The above list indicates that the management of risks of climate change includes a range of opportunities for adaptation in development cooperation that are linked to poverty reduction.

Although knowledge about climate change impacts on development is still limited, Danish development cooperation may contribute directly and indirectly to adaptation. Adaptation should be integrated into the broader development agenda.

Examples of adaptation in Danish development cooperation are the management of water resources in a regional programme in Southern Africa, and risk management in agriculture through crop improvement, and access to credits for diversification of production. Adaptation also includes the assessment of extreme weather on infrastructure, e.g. road construction in transport sector programmes.

Generally the cost of taking precautionary action to adapt to climate change will be low compared to the cost of in-action. This, for example, could be the case in increasing the distance of new buildings, roads, and boreholes from coastlines. However, given the uncertainty of future climate change, it is important that costly adaptation measures are carefully assessed and compared to the risk of not taking precautionary action.

The recognition of an urgent need for adaptation in the most vulnerable countries has led to proposals from developing countries, NGOs, and research institutions for strengthening the role of adaptation in the international climate regime.

At the UN climate change conference in Marrakech in 2002, a special work programme for Least Developed Countries (LDCs) was adopted. One of the key features of the programme is the requirement for LDCs to prepare National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs). Adaptation efforts are particularly important in the most vulnerable countries, such as LDCs and Small Island Developing States.

Even if mitigation is successful, there will be impacts from climate change and a need for adaptation. The reason is that the inertia of the climate change system may cause the concentration of greenhouse gases to continue to increase and global temperatures to continue to rise.

3.2 Mitigation of Climate Change

A significant contributing factor leading to climate change is the fact that most countries rely on fossil energy sources (coal, oil, and gas) resulting in emission of CO₂ and other GHG. Another contributing factor is the release of CO₂ and methane from organic soils and biomass due to drainage of land, rice cultivation, shifting cultivation, and deforestation.

Mitigation is defined as an intervention to reduce human-caused net emission of greenhouse gases. Measures for mitigation include:

• Reduction at the source of emissions from use of fossil fuels by means such as energy efficiency, fuel switching (e.g. from coal to gas), renewable energy, and clean coal technology.
• Capturing of waste greenhouse gases, such as methane emitted from landfills with organic waste.
• Creating sinks for storing carbon through natural resource management options, including land use and forest management that lead to the sequestration of carbon in organic matter in soils and biomass, in particular in trees.

According to the Kyoto Protocol, emission reduction targets have not been set for developing countries. With a significant increase in energy consumption in many developing countries, it is, however, important to develop options that allow developing countries to pursue climate-friendly (low-carbon) development strategies.

The Kyoto Protocol includes two project based flexible mechanisms for industrialized countries to reduce emissions without relying only on domestic measures, i.e. the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI)⁷. CDM gives industrialized countries the opportunity to finance mitigation projects in developing countries with the aim of contributing to sustainable development while also helping industrialized countries meet their reduction commitments.

Because CDM projects by definition produce CO₂ credits, such projects are distinct from development cooperation in areas such as preparation, financing, and monitoring requirements.

Danish development cooperation may contribute directly and indirectly to partner countries’ mitigation efforts. 

Box 5: Clean Development Mechanism

Examples of mitigation efforts in Danish development cooperation include investments to reduce the use of fossil fuels through renewable energy (solar, wind energy, and hydro-power). Often the potential exists to pursue on- and off-grid renewable energy options instead of diesel generators as the supplier of energy. The aim is to provide energy services for poor and remote locations. In addition, improvements in energy efficiency have a great potential for reduction of fossil fuel based energy production.

As an example, Danida has supported the promotion of electrical mini-vans for public transport in Nepal. Electricity for the vehicles is generated from hydro-power, and recharging takes place during night time when power consumption for other purposes is low.

In another example from South Africa, a project has improved energy efficiency for buildings and household appliances. The aim is to reduce energy costs for poor people and postpone investments in new power plants.

Sinks for storing carbon can be promoted through development cooperation in programmes that improve management of forests and increase the area and volume of forests. For example, the expansion of forest areas and increase in standing volume and carbon storage is a visible result of the Danish support to community forestry in Nepal.

However, the use of sinks projects as part of the CDM is controversial.

The reservations against sinks projects include that CO₂ is not permanently stored in forest and that sinks projects may lead to monocultures with low biodiversity and few livelihood options. Denmark along with other EU member states, therefore, is not actively promoting sinks projects as part of CDM. Similarly, Denmark along with other EU member states also does not actively engage in large hydro-power projects due to the potential negative environmental and social impacts associated with large dams.

When pursuing renewable energy options, positive and negative environmental and social impacts must be assessed. Such impacts may include changes in employment patterns related to local off-grid energy plants and resettlement of local communities related to hydro-power.

By taking actions to mitigate climate change, potential damages caused by climate change can be reduced or delayed. Delaying the negative impacts of climate change through mitigation will give vulnerable countries more time to initiate measures and build capacity to adapt to climate change.

⁶) Principle 7 of the Declaration from the Rio Conference on Environment and Development.

⁷) Joint Implementation gives industrialized countries an opportunity to acquire carbon credits from supporting projects in other industrialized countries and is not relevant for developing countries.

⁸) Kyoto Protocol, Article 12: “The purpose of the clean development mechanism shall be to assist Parties not included in Annex I [i.e. developing countries] in achieving sustainable development and in contributing to the ultimate objective of the Convention, and to assist Parties included in Annex I [i.e. industrialized countries] in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation and reduction commitments”.