Archived press release

Voices from communities affected by climate change - new report

26 November 2007

A new report published today, November 26 2007, provides nine testimonies from people around the world who have dramatic first-hand experience of the devastating impacts of climate change.

The Friends of the Earth International report "Voices from Communities Affected by Climate Change", is being published ahead of the key United Nations climate talks taking place from 3-14 December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia. The report gives first hand accounts of the impacts of climate change from indigenous people, women, local authorities, farmers, small business owners and small-scale fisherfolk from Honduras, Peru, Brazil, Mali, Swaziland, the UK, Australia, Malaysia and Tuvalu.

These people highlight the strategies that they have developed to try and adapt to the radical impacts of climate change on their land, livelihoods and ecosystems.

Tatiana Roa Avendao, Director of CENSAT Agua Viva/ Friends of the Earth Colombia said:

"We are on the brink of a global climatic catastrophe and poor, vulnerable communities - who are the least responsible for climate change - are already being hit by its impacts. Climate change is socially and environmentally disruptive, causing displacement, disease, and the destruction of livelihoods and ecosystems. Yet despite having to confront environmental disasters such as sea level rises in Bangladesh and across the Pacific, melting glaciers in the Andean and Himalayan regions and drought in Africa, these communities are showing remarkable resilience."

"Nowhere near enough is being done to stop the root causes of climate change. Over-consumption - particularly in industrialised countries - continues unabated, and car, mining, oil and now biofuel companies are raking in the profits. This drives home the need for a global, diverse movement to tackle climate change and demand climate justice. This can only be achieved by halting unsustainable consumption and production while promoting genuine solutions including clean renewable energy and energy sovereignty, a moratorium on fossil fuels extraction, the funding of adaptation, mitigation and forest conservation that protects land rights."

Friends of the Earth International Climate Campaigner Stephanie Long said:

"Adaptation should contain anti poverty measures, protect ecosystems and livelihoods. If adaptation projects are run at a community level, such as Honduran grassroots women's organization that provided health education and helped cultivate organic kitchen gardens in the wake of Hurricane Mitch, then they are more likely to be effective culturally, technically and socially and will increase resilience to the impacts of climate change."

"The fate of these brave people must be recognised by the international community. Friends of the Earth International will be demanding the financing of adaptation in our lobbying efforts for a post-2012 Kyoto agreement in UN climate talks in Bali this December. Industrialised countries must accept responsibility for deep cuts in greenhouse gas emissions within the coming fifteen years."

Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), rich countries are obliged to finance developing country adaptation [1]. The costs of climate adaptation in developing countries will amount to many billions of dollars per year [2]. Industrialised countries must assess the costs of climate adaptation, and work out how to finance new schemes, using tax and state funding.

Notes

The report:
www.foei.org/en/publications/pdfs/climate-testimonies/

[1] Article 4.3 of the UNFCCC commits Annex II countries to providing 'new and additional resources to meet the agreed full incremental cost of implementing measures…' including `preparing for the adaptation to climate change'. In addition, Article 4.4 states that Annex II countries `shall also assist the developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs of adaptation to those adverse effects.'

[2] According to Kermal Dervis, head of the UN Development Programme (UNDP), donors will need to provide 50 to 100 per cent more finance over and above current aid - equivalent to $50-100 billion annually - to cover the impacts of climate change.
www.ft.com/cms/s/43af1a4a-c817-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html

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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust