Guest Blog: U.S. National Adaptation Summit results
07/06/10 19:19
"While nations negotiate at international conferences about future global commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, and while Congress talks but continues to delay adoption of a strong greenhouse gas reduction program for the country, we're already seeing the effects of the pollution we put into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution" said New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson at the summit. "That's why we have to begin adapting to climate change today -- not tomorrow."
The Administration of President Barack Obama took an important step toward national climate change preparedness when it convened on 25-27 May 2010 a National Climate Adaptation Summit in Washington, DC. The stated purpose of the meeting was to "to provide insight into what is needed for effective climate adaptation and vulnerability assessment and how we should be organized to do that (public and private sectors – federal to local levels)."
On 28 May, we blogged about John Holdren’s presentation (U.S. Science Adviser Holdren says Administration Remains Committed to Comprehensive Energy and Climate Legislation), which now is available as a standalone video. As we noted in our earlier posting, Holdren emphasized the need to both curb emissions and to prepare for climate disruption that is becoming increasingly evident. Both require legislation, prompting Holdren to "call on Democrats and Republicans in Congress, working with my administration, to answer this challenge once and for all."
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson: "We have to begin adapting to climate change today -- not tomorrow."
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, said on the second day that "too often, adapting to climate change takes a back seat" to curbing emissions (i.e. climate change "mitigation). He added:
"While nations negotiate at international conferences about future global commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, and while Congress talks but continues to delay adoption of a strong greenhouse gas reduction program for the country, we're already seeing the effects of the pollution we put into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution. That's why we have to begin adapting to climate change today -- not tomorrow. Adaptation versus mitigation is not an either/or choice. We have to do both."
Richardson concluded:
"The BP oil disaster is on everyone's mind, and it is an example of why we need to take action. As millions of gallons of oil are spewing into the fragile ecosystem, citizens are asking: `Why is this happening? Why isn't there a plan to fix the problem and alleiviate its impacts?' That's a chance we have here, to plan and implement fixes for the biggest environmental problem we face today -- and that is climate change."
Watch Richardson's full keynote at 14:45 in the summit's second day Webcast .
International Dimensions
The summit was not entirely focused on domestic adaptation issues. The Inter-American Development Bank hosted the summit and the bank's president, Luis Alberto Moreno, addressed the participants on the second day (see his remarks at 3:06 in Webcast). Moreno described the bank's deep engagement in adaptation issues in Latin America and the Caribbean; and collaboration between the U.S. and those countries around those issues.
Moreno said that the countries "are increasingly aware that adaptation to climate change is a strategic imperative that could determine their ability to feed their people, power their industries and compete economically. Moreover, the region's leaders understand that a failure to adapt could reverse much of the progress they have made in the war against poverty. As a result many of our member governments have been asking for technical assistance and financing to make climate change adaptation and mitigation and integral part of their development plans."
On the final day, the international keynote address was presented by Juan Pablo Bonilla, Chief of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank. Bonilla said Latin America and the Caribbean are "very vulnerable" to climate change. "We are already suffering from the impacts," he said, citing impacts to coral reefs, coastal wetlands, high mountain ecosystems, tropical glaciers and rainforests.
Bonilla said that electric power generating facilities already are being affected by climate change. In a country such as Columbia where 80% of the generating capacity is hydro-electric, he said there is great concern about vulnerability to altered precipitation regimes. "That's where adaptation and mitigation come together," he said, adding that the "natural adaptation measure" right now for countries heavily dependent on hydro is to diversify power generation by increasing dependence on coal.
"It's very contradictory," Bonilla said. He warned that if the generating mix is not diversified with renewable energy sources, "the immediate, fast adaptation response to climate change is going to coal."
Given that Bonilla is with the IDB, he not surprisingly emphasized the importance of estimating the costs of adaptation for the region. "It is key not for environmental reasons. It is key for decision makers at the level of ministers of finance and planning to start seeing numbers. Because the only way we are going to convince them that this is important is ... putting all that into numbers."
Furthermore, Bonilla argued that funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation needs to be increased, investment patterns must shift. and coordination needs to be improved among different sources of funds.
View Bonilla's full address at 3:30 in the last day's Webcast. A PDF version of his slides also is available.
For a quick summary of the summit, see the wrap-up session by Rosina Bierbaum, a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. Her presentation starts at 2:56 in the last day's Webcast. A PDF of her visual presentation also is available.
The plenary sessions were all Webcast and the archives are available online. In some cases, PDF versions of the speakers' visual presentations are available too. We provide below an outline of the plenary sessions with links to the Webcasts and to the visual presentations. The biographies of the speakers also are accessible online.
Nick Sundt
Communications Director for Climate Change
World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1193 USA
Tel: 202 495 4630
Cell: 202 640 3450
Email: Nicholas.Sundt@WWFUS.org
Web: www.worldwildlife.org
On 28 May, we blogged about John Holdren’s presentation (U.S. Science Adviser Holdren says Administration Remains Committed to Comprehensive Energy and Climate Legislation), which now is available as a standalone video. As we noted in our earlier posting, Holdren emphasized the need to both curb emissions and to prepare for climate disruption that is becoming increasingly evident. Both require legislation, prompting Holdren to "call on Democrats and Republicans in Congress, working with my administration, to answer this challenge once and for all."
New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson: "We have to begin adapting to climate change today -- not tomorrow."
Bill Richardson, Governor of New Mexico, said on the second day that "too often, adapting to climate change takes a back seat" to curbing emissions (i.e. climate change "mitigation). He added:
"While nations negotiate at international conferences about future global commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, and while Congress talks but continues to delay adoption of a strong greenhouse gas reduction program for the country, we're already seeing the effects of the pollution we put into the atmosphere since the start of the industrial revolution. That's why we have to begin adapting to climate change today -- not tomorrow. Adaptation versus mitigation is not an either/or choice. We have to do both."
Richardson concluded:
"The BP oil disaster is on everyone's mind, and it is an example of why we need to take action. As millions of gallons of oil are spewing into the fragile ecosystem, citizens are asking: `Why is this happening? Why isn't there a plan to fix the problem and alleiviate its impacts?' That's a chance we have here, to plan and implement fixes for the biggest environmental problem we face today -- and that is climate change."
Watch Richardson's full keynote at 14:45 in the summit's second day Webcast .
International Dimensions
The summit was not entirely focused on domestic adaptation issues. The Inter-American Development Bank hosted the summit and the bank's president, Luis Alberto Moreno, addressed the participants on the second day (see his remarks at 3:06 in Webcast). Moreno described the bank's deep engagement in adaptation issues in Latin America and the Caribbean; and collaboration between the U.S. and those countries around those issues.
Moreno said that the countries "are increasingly aware that adaptation to climate change is a strategic imperative that could determine their ability to feed their people, power their industries and compete economically. Moreover, the region's leaders understand that a failure to adapt could reverse much of the progress they have made in the war against poverty. As a result many of our member governments have been asking for technical assistance and financing to make climate change adaptation and mitigation and integral part of their development plans."
On the final day, the international keynote address was presented by Juan Pablo Bonilla, Chief of the Sustainable Energy and Climate Change Unit at the Inter-American Development Bank. Bonilla said Latin America and the Caribbean are "very vulnerable" to climate change. "We are already suffering from the impacts," he said, citing impacts to coral reefs, coastal wetlands, high mountain ecosystems, tropical glaciers and rainforests.
Bonilla said that electric power generating facilities already are being affected by climate change. In a country such as Columbia where 80% of the generating capacity is hydro-electric, he said there is great concern about vulnerability to altered precipitation regimes. "That's where adaptation and mitigation come together," he said, adding that the "natural adaptation measure" right now for countries heavily dependent on hydro is to diversify power generation by increasing dependence on coal.
"It's very contradictory," Bonilla said. He warned that if the generating mix is not diversified with renewable energy sources, "the immediate, fast adaptation response to climate change is going to coal."
Given that Bonilla is with the IDB, he not surprisingly emphasized the importance of estimating the costs of adaptation for the region. "It is key not for environmental reasons. It is key for decision makers at the level of ministers of finance and planning to start seeing numbers. Because the only way we are going to convince them that this is important is ... putting all that into numbers."
Furthermore, Bonilla argued that funding for climate change mitigation and adaptation needs to be increased, investment patterns must shift. and coordination needs to be improved among different sources of funds.
View Bonilla's full address at 3:30 in the last day's Webcast. A PDF version of his slides also is available.
For a quick summary of the summit, see the wrap-up session by Rosina Bierbaum, a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology and the Dean of the School of Natural Resources and Environment, University of Michigan. Her presentation starts at 2:56 in the last day's Webcast. A PDF of her visual presentation also is available.
The plenary sessions were all Webcast and the archives are available online. In some cases, PDF versions of the speakers' visual presentations are available too. We provide below an outline of the plenary sessions with links to the Webcasts and to the visual presentations. The biographies of the speakers also are accessible online.
Nick Sundt
Communications Director for Climate Change
World Wildlife Fund
1250 24th Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20037-1193 USA
Tel: 202 495 4630
Cell: 202 640 3450
Email: Nicholas.Sundt@WWFUS.org
Web: www.worldwildlife.org
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