Category Archives: Climate change
A Conference Carol
What does this difficult time for global cooperation mean for the future of the climate negotiations? We genuinely cannot say. In the spirit of the season, however, let the ghosts of climate change conferences past, present, and yet to come show us glimpses of what was, what is, and what could be. Continue reading
A Conference Carol – III
The disenchantment with unfair globalisation should be a wakeup call for those who think justice and ethics have nothing to do with global climate negotiations. Any global treaty or process that imposes an unfair burden will eventually be rejected. The “citizens of the world” may not have a vote through which to express their anger, but they will express themselves nevertheless, by rejecting the unfair. Continue reading
A Conference Carol – II
Some climate experts have tried to soften the blow of Trump’s election by saying the transition to renewable energy is “unstoppable”. This is misleading and dangerous, playing down the importance of US participation in the international regime. Continue reading
Justice is still critical in the post-Paris world of “nationally determined” climate action
Can we really solve the climate change problem without some notion of fair burden sharing? Talking about equity, it is alleged, may derail negotiations. But not talking about it can kill the possibility that the outcome of the negotiations will ever be implemented in good faith, with maximum possible ambition, or that countries will continue to engage. Continue reading
Scaling up adaptation 5: Microfinance sparked by “social energy”
Microfinance is perhaps “the” success story for scaling up development interventions. While it should continue to be a critical tool in providing climate finance to the poor and reducing their vulnerability to climate impacts, its early history also has lessons to offer for scaling up adaptation. Continue reading
Leave room for legal ambition in the Paris Agreement
The Paris climate agreement expected in December should include the option for countries to take on legally binding targets, even if no country is willing to enlist initially Continue reading
Scaling up adaptation 4: Empowering women is a process, not a project
Kudumbashree demonstrates, once again, the importance of community-drivenness, fiscal freedom, and a strong capacity development drive. Continue reading
Scaling up adaptation 3: Lessons from Indonesia
My second case study of a successfully scaled-up development intervention that could provide lessons for adaptation is from Indonesia: the Kecamatan (sub-district) Development Programme (KDP). KDP had what has been described as an “explosive” scaling up, from initial pilots in … Continue reading
Scaling up adaptation 1: What does it mean?
The need to rapidly “scale up” successful climate change adaptation projects, programmes and policies is widely recognised, but there are currently few adaptation-specific examples to demonstrate how such scaling up can take place, or what elements are necessary for such … Continue reading
Consolidation for devolution: Balancing top-down and bottom-up elements of climate finance governance in India
Consolidating national and international climate finance in a national fund in India could help ensure common principles; coherence with national strategies; distributive justice; prioritisation of the needs of the most vulnerable; and flexibility through a continuous review process. However, such consolidation must come with a strong commitment to devolution. Continue reading
It must be said! 