| AMG | Danida’s Aid Management Guidelines |
| BFT | Technical Advisory Service of MFA |
| CDM | Clean Development Mechanism |
| CER | Certified Emissions Reductions |
| CO2 | Carbon dioxide |
| Danida | Danish International Development Assistance |
| DCCD | Danida Centre for Competence Development |
| DCDAP | Danida Climate and Development Action Programme |
| DNA | Designated National Authority |
| EIA | Environmental Impact Assessment |
| ERH | Department for Business Cooperation & Technical Assistance of MFA |
| EU | European Union |
| GEF | Global Environmental Facility |
| GHG | Greenhouse Gases |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change of the United Nations |
| JI | Joint Implementation |
| LDC | Least Developed Countries |
| MDG | Millennium Development Goals |
| MEA | Multilateral Environmental Agreement |
| MFA | Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs |
| MIL | Department for Environment and |
| Sustainable Development of MFA | |
| NAPA | National Adaptation Programmes of Action |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organisation |
| PRSP | Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper |
| SEA | Danish Special Environmental Assistance |
| SWAP | Sector Wide Approach |
| TAR | IPCC Third Assessment Report |
| ToR | Terms of Reference |
| UNFCCC | United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| UNEP | United Nations Environmental Programme |
| UNDP | United Nations Development Programme |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization |
“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 objective of the Danida ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is to ’climate proof’ Danish development cooperation in order to effectively fight poverty and promote economic and social development for present and future generations.
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.
“The developing countries are expected to suffer the most from the negative impacts of climate change. This is due to the economic importance of climate-sensitive sectors (for example, agriculture and fisheries) for these countries, and to their limited human, institutional, and financial capacity to anticipate and respond to the direct and indirect effects of climate change. In general, the vulnerability is highest for least developed countries in the tropical and subtropical areas. Hence, the countries 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.
Multi-agency report on ’Poverty and Climate Change’ (2002, p.5) ”
Climate change is a major global challenge and a potential threat to human welfare and to economic and social development. Therefore, climate change is also a major development challenge. The negative effects of climate change are mostly felt in developing countries. Climate change is a serious risk to the fight against poverty and could lead to a set back in years’ work to protect and enhance human well-being and sustainable development.
Analyses, including those prepared for the 2005 UN Summit on reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDG), have high-lighted that without urgent and adequate global responses to climate change, the efforts to achieve the MDGs and other development objectives could be undermined. Similarly, climate change may undermine the efforts and outcomes of development cooperation.
Development cooperation programmes and projects are designed with explicit or implicit assumptions about the climate in which they will function. The conventional way is to assume that the climate of the past is a reliable guide to the future. This is no longer a sufficient assumption. To address climate change, the design criteria must be based on probable future climate scenarios and expected impacts.
In order to take climate change into consideration, the environmental assessment of development cooperation programmes and projects will have to address not only the effects of development cooperation on the environment, but also the impacts that imminent climate-related environmental and socio-economic changes have on development cooperation.
Sector specific risks can be identified for typical sectors in development corporation programmes. To determine the risks to which sectors are exposed, it is necessary to examine their vulnerability to specific hazards. The potential hazards from climate change and climate variability include:
Sectors that are most vulnerable to the risks of climate change and increased climate variability are:
The impacts of climate change and extreme weather events, like tropical storms and floods, can have a devastating impact on developing countries’ economies. For example, climate change can cause damage to infrastructure, e.g. roads, harbours and other development projects, often funded by poor countries with a mixture of loans, soft loans and grants.
According to a UNEP study (2002), worldwide economic losses due to natural disasters appear to be doubling every 10 years. On current trends, annual losses may reach almost USD 150 billion in the next decade. Although not all natural disasters are caused by extreme weather and climate change, this gives an indication of the scale of the costs of climate change.
As an example, in 1999 and 2000 a large port terminal in a Caribbean island was devastated by unexpected weather events. Reconstruction and loss of revenues cost millions of dollars. The loss could have been reduced if proper risk assessment and higher standards of design specifications had been used. Although this would have implied an additional cost, such cost would only have been in the 10-15 per cent range of the cost of reconstruction.3
Climate change can also lead to less visible impacts that have an influence on a large group of people. This may be the case in subsistence and commercial farming due to erosion or flooding, damage to feeder roads, and increased outbreak of tropical diseases.
The costs of such complex events are difficult to assess. However, by taking precautionary action4 through risk management and up-front investments, loss of human lives and resources for development may be avoided.
The anticipated adverse impacts of climate change therefore should be addressed through use of appropriate climate change planning and management tools in development cooperation programmes. Integrating such tools in environmental assessments and design of development cooperation programmes will help climate proof development cooperation. Thereby, climate proofing becomes an integrated part of environment-friendly development policy and risk assessment of any investment in countries and sectors that are vulnerable to climate change.
The challenge of climate change can only be met through a concerted international effort and through cooperation between developed and developing countries. The United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the key multilateral agreement addressing climate change.
Box 1: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC was established at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992.
With the Convention, the international community recognized climate change as a global challenge and human activities releasing green house gases as a contributing factor. In response to the challenge, the Climate Convention was set up to achieve “stabilization of green house gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system”. Denmark along with 188 other nations has ratified the UNFCCC, which entered into force in 1994.
Through the Climate Convention, the industrialized countries agreed to stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions at the 1990 level. However, the Climate Convention did not set out internationally agreed reduction targets.
In 1997, at the third conference of the UNFCCC, agreement was reached to set up the Kyoto Protocol under UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol includes binding targets and instruments to address the emission of greenhouse gasses (GHG) into the atmosphere.
According to the Kyoto Protocol, developing countries do not have binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In absolute terms, emission of GHG in developing countries will, however, soon reach levels similar to the emissions of industrialized countries. This is mainly due to strong economic growth and increasing energy consumption in major emerging economies. Against this background, international negotiations are initiated to discuss how to broaden the effort to mitigate climate change after the expiration of the Protocol’s first commitment period in 2012.
The Kyoto Protocol is the only international instrument for global action to mitigate climate change. The Protocol was set up to establish internationally binding commitments for the reduction of GHG and thereby support the overall objective of the UNFCCC. The Protocol, being ratified by around 150 countries, entered into force in February 2005. The Protocol requires developed countries to reduce GHG emissions, among them carbon dioxide, by at least 5 per cent compared to the 1990 level in the first commitment period from 2008 to 2012.
According to the Protocol, Denmark has to reduce its emission of GHG by 8 per cent to 92 per cent from the base year in 1990. However, according to an agreement in the European Community to meet EU’s overall emission reduction targets, Denmark has made a commitment to reduce GHG emissions by 21 per cent from the 1990 base year in the first commitment period.
The European Union is a driving force in the international efforts to address climate change. At a meeting of the European Council in March 2005, agreement was reached to work for ambitious targets as part of the international climate change regime. Increased international efforts were called for to ensure that the average global mean temperature will not increase by more than 20 Celsius compared to the pre-industrial level.
As a step to support climate change actions in developing countries, the EU has developed the ’EU Action Plan on Climate change in the Context of Development Cooperation’.
Box 3: EU Action Plan on Climate Change in the Context of Development Cooperation
The EU Action Plan, launched by the European Council of Ministers on November 22, 2004, identifies four strategic priorities:
The EU Action Plan translates these strategic priorities into concrete actions to be implemented collectively by the EU Commission and the EU Member States in a coordinated and complementary manner in line with their development cooperation programmes and priorities.
With the Danish ’Climate and Development Action Programme’, steps are taken to accelerate Danish implementation of the ’EU Action Plan on Climate change in the Context of Development Cooperation’. It signals Denmark’s recognition of climate change as a major global challenge with particularly negative impacts on developing countries.
Climate change is probably the most significant driver of global environmental change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has defined climate change as “Any change in climate over time, whether due to natural variability, or as a result of human activities”. IPCC is the independent scientific panel of the United Nations assessing the causes and impacts of climate change (box 4).
15 The scientific challenge addressed by IPCC includes three main issues:
Box 4: Scientific background to climate change
The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988. The role of the IPCC is to assess, on a comprehensive, objective, open, and transparent basis, the scientific and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC draws on a network of several hundred scientists.
IPCC’s Third Assessment Report from 2001 concludes “that the globally averaged surface temperatures have increased by 0.6 + – 0.20 C over the 20th century, and that, for the range of scenarios developed in the IPCC Special Report on Emissions Scenarios, the globally averaged surface temperature is projected by Global Circulation Models to warm 1.4 to 5.80 C by 2100 relative to 1990, and globally averaged sea level is projected by models to rise 0.09 to 0.88 m by 2100” These changes take place against a background of an increase in anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases over the last 250 years.
According to IPCC, regional changes in climate, particularly increases in temperature, have already affected a diverse set of physical and biological systems in many parts of the world. These changes lead to sea level rise, changes in precipitation patterns and increase in the frequency and magnitude of extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and storms.
The IPPC findings illustrate, that even if anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases are eliminated immediately, the inertia of the climate system will make temperature continue to rise for the next 30 years and sea level rise a lot longer. Therefore, adaptation to climate change is needed.
3) For less investment intensive projects, the additional cost would be less. Through cost-benefit analysis of different construction standards during project appraisal, the potential risks and expected damages may be weighed against the cost of risk mitigation options and the present value of avoided damage over the project’s lifetime.
4) Principle 15 of the Declaration from the Rio Conference on Environment and Development (see glossary).
5) IPCCfn5 Third Assessment Report (2001) – http://www.ipcc.ch
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.
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.
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:
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.
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:
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
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is one of the flexible mechanisms included in the Kyoto Protocol to help mitigate climate change. The CDM allows industrialized countries to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries and thereby generate credits, Certified Emissions Reductions (CER), for the use of the investor to meet national GHG reduction target. As stipulated in article 12 of the Protocol, the objective of CDM also is also to assist developing countries achieve sustainable development.8
Denmark provides support to CDM priority countries: Malaysia, Thailand, South Africa, China, and Indonesia. Danish embassies in these countries have an important role to play in working together with the host governments and other local partners to identify and develop CDM projects. Danish support includes helping set up Designated National Authority (DNA) for approving CDM projects.
Denmark is also engaged in purchase of CDM credits from projects developed through the Mixed Credits Facility (soft loans). In addition to the direct procurement of credits from projects, Denmark also purchases indirect credits through the Danish Carbon Fund, managed by the World Bank.
Whereas official development assistance cannot be used to purchase Certified Emission Reductions (CERs), development assistance may be used to build capacity to develop CDM projects.
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.
Mitigation should be pursued as an integral part of promoting sustainable development and improving living conditions for present and future generations. In particular, mitigation should be pursued where mitigation presents a “win-win” situation in relation to poverty reduction such as developing sustainable forest management systems and improving energy efficiency.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”.
The Danida ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ outlines actions to be taken in Danish development cooperation in order to address the challenges of climate change and to mainstream climate change actions into development cooperation.
In line with the EU Action Plan, the Danish ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ includes the following four elements:
By raising the policy profile of climate change, the aim is to enable the development policies and Danish development assistance to address climate change. In addition, through support to capacity development developing countries will strengthen their ability to address adaptation to and mitigation of climate change in their national development programmes.
The figure below illustrates the relations between the climate change complex and the elements of the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’.
Objectives
Adaptation
Mitigation
Procedures for collaboration and coordination
Integration of climate change concerns in Danish development cooperation will make use of ’windows of opportunities’ for raising the policy issues and influencing the design of development programmes and infrastructure investments. These opportunities emerge in particular with:
Other opportunities for ’climate change integration’ relate to cooperation with national and international NGOs, cooperation with civil society organisations, research institutions, and through private sector programmes. Activities in these areas are not directly covered in the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’. However, climate change considerations linked to these areas of cooperation may also benefit from the principles and actions of the Action Programme.
With this Action Programme, climate change screening and related actions will be identified to address climate change in the following contexts:
Within each context, as indicated in chapters 5-8, the following elements are identified:
In implementing the actions listed in chapters 5-8, Danish embassies and foreign missions may obtain technical support from MFA in line with the procedures outlined in the AMG.
Climate proofing development plans and programmes is relevant in various contexts and at various levels. In Danish partner countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate change, it may be relevant to assist in ensuring that overall national development plans and strategies are screened for climate change. Where support to climate screening at national level may be requested, Denmark is prepared to provide assistance that is not directly linked to the Danida country programme10. Support of this nature should be carefully coordinated with relevant national authorities and multilateral and bilateral partners active in the area.
Regarding Danish bilateral development cooperation, screening for climate change impacts is relevant for Danida sector programme support and mixed credits projects. Climate change screening will be integrated as part of the mandatory Danida environmental screening for sector programmes and mixed credit projects. The elements of the climate change screening are:
9) Guidance agreed upon with the ’Paris Declaration on Harmonisation’: (http://www.aidharmonization.org).
10) Support for national climate change screening may be provided separately through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Target
This chapter is for multilateral departments in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and relevant Danish missions and embassies dealing with multilateral organisations and international NGOs.
Entry points
From a climate perspective, multilateral meetings tend to fall in two categories. Either climate change is the key issue or climate change is addressed only marginally, if at all.
Basic principles
Initial screening points
Target
Responsibility is with Danish embassies in partner countries.
Entry points
Basic principles
Initial screening points
11) Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mozam-bique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia (July 2005).
12) Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, China, Kenya, Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa (July 2005).
13) CDM priority countries are: Thailand, Malaysia, South Africa, Indonesia, and China (July 2005).
14) All Danida partner countries have ratified the UNFCCC, and all but Burkina Faso, Nepal and Zambia have ratified, approved, or made accession to the Kyoto Protocol (July 2005).
Target
Responsibility is with Danish Embassies in partner countries.
Entry points
Basic principles
Initial screening points
Target
Responsibility is with the Mixed Credit Unit in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Entry points
Basic principles
Initial screening points
This section outlines the roll-out of the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’. Successful implementation of the Action Programme will improve the effectiveness of Danish development cooperation and reduce risks. Through Danida Aid Management Guidelines (AMG), the Action Programme is integrated into existing development aid procedures and policies, in order to ensure that climate change, where relevant, is addressed as one of several critical development factors.
Linking the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ to the AMG will help ensure that Danish development cooperation is climate proofed at critical stages of strategy, programme and project development, and implementation.
In addition to the requirements of the AMG, new specific policy requirements for implementation of the Action Programme are not introduced. However, given existing resource constraints, there is a risk that implementation of the Action Programme may be given insufficient priority and that lessons and good practice may not spread fast enough. Therefore, a targeted approach will be taken to ensure follow-up and early action.
Benchmarks for rolling out the Action Programme include a minimum of three bilateral (national or sector level) or multilateral actions in 2005, and a minimum of five annual bilateral or multilateral actions in 2006-2007. If needed, additional assistance for targeted actions may be made available.
The ’Climate and Development Action Programme’ is designed as an integral part of the Danida Aid Management Guidelines, linked to the Guidelines for Programme Management.15
An operational website on climate change and development is developed as part of the Danida environmental professional network established by Danida’s Centre for Competence Development (DCCD).16 The website is a ’living’ instrument. Based on chapters 5-8 of this Action Programme, the website contains simple screening and action tools. As experience with the Action Programme is gained, the website will include examples from Danida policy dialogue, adaptation and mitigation in sector and country programmes, CDM activities, and climate proofing of mixed credit projects.
By including climate change and development as an element in relevant DCCD training courses, Danish development practitioners will be familiarised with the ’Climate and Development Action Programme’. This will happen in Copenhagen as well as in the field. The aim of such training is to ensure that best use is made of the Action Programme and the associated tools.
Knowledge sharing is important. Therefore, dialogue on climate change and development will continue with a wide range of stakeholders in Den-mark and abroad, including development practitioners, the Danish ’Research Network for Environment and Development’, and the UNEP Risø Centre on Energy, Climate Change, and Sustainable Development.
Actions
Through implementation of the Action Programme and by making use of the screening tools, experience will be gained. In order to develop the Action Programme further, feed-back from Danish embassies and development practitioners, partner governments, other stakeholders in partner countries, and from other donors is important.
Although general feed-back is welcome at all times, it is not expected that Danish embassies and other stakeholders carry out separate reporting on the use of the Action Programme and toolbox. By using established channels of communication, feed-back, therefore, should be included as part of normal reporting related to annual planning processes, consultation meeting, technical missions etc.
A review of the Action Programme will be made in year 2008. The objective of the review will be to assess the usefulness of the Action Programme and the toolbox, collect and disseminate best practice, and make adjustments in the Action Programme and the toolbox as necessary.
Furthermore, experience from implementing the Action Programme and the toolbox will be shared with EU partners as part of the overall review of the implementation of the three-year EU Action Plan on Climate Change in the Context of Development Cooperation. Thereby, Danish experience will feed into EU considerations on further action beyond 2008.
Actions
15) Danida Aid Management Guidelines: http://www.amg.um.dk
16) Professional network to be accessed at: http://www.danida-networks.dk
Adaptation: A process by which strategies to moderate, cope with, and take advantage of the consequences of climate events are enhanced, developed and implemented”.
Adaptive capacity: The ability of people and systems to adjust to climate change.
Carbon sinks/carbon sequestration: Carbon sinks are organic matter that allows storing or sequestration of carbon dioxide. Sinks include soils and biomass, particularly trees.
Certified Emission Reductions (CER): Reductions of greenhouse gases achieved by a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project – also referred to as CDM credits. CERs can be sold or counted towards industrialized countries’ reduction commitments. Reductions must be additional to any that would otherwise occur.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): One of the three flexible mechanisms established by the Kyoto Protocol. The instrument is flexible, because it allows industrialized countries to invest in emission reduction projects in developing countries with potential for cost-effective emission reductions (see box 5).
Climate Change: Any change in climate over time whether due to natural variability or because of human activity. Human activity leading to climate change primarily includes emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, leading to less radiation of heat and global warming.
Climate Proofing: Actions to ensure that development efforts are protected from negative impacts of climate change, climate variability, and extreme weather events and to ensure that climate-friendly development strategies are pursued to delay and reduce damages caused by climate change.Climate Variability: Reflects shorter-term extreme weather events, such as tropical hurricanes and the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO).
Coping: The immediate actions in the face of an event or changes, and ability to maintain welfare (in contrast to adaptation, which refers to long-term adjustments to the framework within which coping takes place).
Disaster: A serious disruption of the functioning of a society, causing widespread human, material, or environmental losses. These may exceed the ability of the affected society to cope, using its own resources.
Extreme Event: Event departing markedly from the average values or trends, and that is exceptional. Mostly, the return period substantially exceeds 10 years.
Fuel Switching: Reduce greenhouse gas emissions by switching from high-carbon to lower-carbon emitting energy sources, for example from coal to gas.
Global Warming: Human activity leading to climate change primarily includes emission of greenhouse gases (e.g. carbon dioxide and methane) into the atmosphere, leading to less radiation of heat and global warming.
Greenhouse Gases: Principally carbon dioxide (CO2). Other gases are methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorcarbons (HFCs), perfluorcarbons (PFCs), and sulphurhexafluoride (SF6).
Low-carbon Development Path: Climate-friendly energy policies with emphasis on renewable energy, clean energy, energy efficiency, and other measures to reduce reliance on fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas).
Mitigation: A human intervention to reduce or store anthropogenic emission of greenhouse gases and thereby lessen climate change.
National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA): National Adaptation Programmes of Action are intended to communicate priority activities addressing the urgent and immediate needs and concerns of Least Developed Countries (LDCs), relating to adaptation to the adverse effects of climate change.
National Communication: The requirement to prepare a national communication is stipulated in article 12 of the UNFCCC. Preparation of national communications is mandatory for all parties to the Climate Convention except for Least Developed Countries. Generally, national communications are prepared at intervals of 3-5 years and must include information such as inventories of emissions, policies and measures, and proposed projects for financing.
Precautionary Principle: As per Article 15 of the Rio Declaration (1992), “...where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation”.
Resilience: The amount of change a system can undergo without changing state.
Risks: The expected number of lives lost, persons injured, damage to capital stock, and disruption of economic activity due to a particular natural hazard. The expected losses are consequently the product of a specific risk.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC): The international response to climate change, whose objective is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system – in this text referred to as the Climate Convention (see box 2).
Vulnerability: The combination of the sensitivity of people and natural systems to adverse socio-economic and environmental effects of climate change and the ability to cope with them.