Poorest forced to weather the storm

FOLLOWING the controversy that surrounded the recent announcement by Environment Minister Phil Hogan of a review of climate policy, the debate about the need for climate change legislation has once again hit the headlines.

By focusing on policy development initially and delaying legislative action, the minister is taking time that the world and its poorest people do not have.

Seven billion of us share this planet and in the coming decades this could rise to nine billion. The world’s resources, especially water, are experiencing unprecedented demand and the global food system is buckling under intense pressure from climate change and other factors such as competition for land, rising energy prices and ecological degradation.

Despite the imminent threat posed by climate change, governments are focusing on the economic crisis and ensuing social unrest that dominate public discourse. Mr Hogan’s assertion that environmental protection and economic competitiveness are equal objectives is indicative of this thinking, but is in danger of underestimating the impact that runaway climate change will have on the economy.

The world is indeed in an age of crisis. But the longer term threat to humanity posed by unmitigated climate change has the potential to dwarf other concerns. Unpredictable weather patterns are wreaking havoc around the world and exacerbating disasters such as the food crisis in East Africa. Poor countries that are acutely vulnerable to floods, droughts and other extreme weather events are already struggling to cope with their devastating impacts. This is threatening to halt and even reverse progress made towards achieving of the Millennium Development Goals.

The minister spoke of the need to focus on food security. But climate change is already posing a threat to world food production. Shocks from extreme climatic events and the unpredictability of seasons often force the world’s poorest to go without food. Declining crop yields due to rising temperatures, extreme weather events with the ability to wipe out harvests and unpredictable rainfall patterns make it difficult for poor farmers to grow their crops.

Despite technological advances, many millions of people rely on 15cm of topsoil and rain to produce the food they eat. Oxfam sees this daily in the 90 plus countries we work in. The struggle faced by families trying to cope with extreme weather and failing crops threatens to undo years of progressive development. These people can’t afford for us to wait for calmer conditions internationally.

We need to act now, so we can mitigate the effects of climate change and protect the planet’s shrinking resources. Before the UN climate negotiations in Durban at the end of the month, Mr Hogan must ready himself for action on the domestic and international stages.

In Durban, governments will have the chance to make progress. The Green Climate Fund should be made operational with the needs and rights of women and developing countries firmly at its heart. Agreed last year in Cancun, Mexico, to help developing countries tackle the impacts of climate change, the fund is currently empty. The issue of funding for such climate change adaptation can be addressed through establishing innovative sources such as a levy on shipping emissions and a tax on financial transactions. Governments must also work to keep the Kyoto Protocol alive, as it is the only legally-binding framework in place and is a step towards the goal of fair global agreement.

Progress on the international stage has to be supported by national action and uncertainty about government policy is an unwelcome distraction. Climate change legislation is one of the strongest indications that the Government is committed to tackling the climate crisis. Ireland needs a policy that takes responsibility for our share of mitigation efforts, shows commitment to meet the 2020 emissions reduction targets and affirms our support for the world’s poorest people on the frontline of climate change.

The principle of climate change legislation gained cross-party support in the last Dáil and Mr Hogan acknowledged the need for urgent action to combat this global threat. A commitment to publish legislation was also made in the Programme for Government. The minister suggested that policy measures need to be strengthened for Ireland to meet its EU targets. While seeking to improve upon existing policies is welcome, there is no reason why it cannot happen in tandem with legislation. The absence of domestic legislation would undermine any hope that such measures could be implemented. The commitment to introduce climate legislation at some ill-defined point during the lifetime of the government is not good enough.

In a welcome move, Mr Hogan pledged not to defer the Government’s climate agenda. However, a Government timetable to send a draft climate bill to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment would go a long way towards assuaging concerns raised by advocates of climate change legislation.

As Mr Hogan makes final preparations in advance of his attendance at the Durban climate conference, he has the opportunity to take a step to ensure Ireland plays its part in ensuring those least responsible for climate change don’t continue to suffer most from its effects.

Jim Clarken, chief executive, Oxfam Ireland