A new Global Commission on Adaptation has been established by a group of world leaders to promote the acceleration of climate adaptation solutions. The commission is led by Ban Ki-Moon, the former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Bill Gates, co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Kristalina Georgeieva, CEO of the World Bank.
The commission has been launched following the release of a special report on global warming released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The special report warned that damaging climate impacts are already being felt – much sooner and more powerfully than previous projected.
Speaking at the launch of the commission, Ban Ki-moon said without urgent adaptation action there was a risk of undermining food, energy and water security for decades to come. “Continued economic growth and reductions in global poverty are possible despite these challenges, but only if societies invest much more in adaptation,” he said.
“The costs of adapting are less than the cost of doing business as usual, and the benefits many times larger.”
Bill Gates said there was a need for governments and other stakeholders to support innovation to help deliver breakthroughs to vulnerable populations.“If everyone does their part we can reduce carbon emissions, increase access to affordable energy and help farmers grow more productive crops,” he said.
The role of the commission will be to increase awareness of the importance of climate adaptation and promote smarter investments, new technologies and better planning to increase resilience to climate threats.
At the launch, the commission identified four major barriers currently slowing adaptation which it will address:
- Decision makers and the wider public are not yet aware of all the opportunities to be gained from becoming more resilient and less vulnerable to climate impacts and natural hazards;
- Governments and business fail to incorporate climate change risks into their social and economic development plans and investments;
- Adaptation efforts fall short of those who need them most, the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people; and
- Although adaptation is a global challenge, global leadership on the issue is scarce. In short, the world is falling short of the transformation required to adapt to a changing climate.
The commission also plans to convene key champions, coalitions, private sectors and civil society actors to advance initiatives including food security and rural livelihoods, global supply chains, cities, infrastructure, finance, social protection and nature-based solutions.
More information at – https://gca.org/home