Editorial

Climate change and sustainable development

This special issue of the Natural Resources Forum AUnited Nations Sustainable Development Journal is beingpublished as the 15th Conference of the Parties to theUNFCCC takes place in Copenhagen. The imperative of allcountries is to reach an ambitious, science-based, andequitable agreement to address climate change. This isnecessary not only for protecting future human lives andprosperity but also for bridging the deficit of trust betweendeveloped and developing countries.We need to act quickly.

The agreement has focused on five pillars, or corepolitical issues, namely (a) support for adaptation, (b)developed country targets, (c) supported developingcountry mitigation actions, (d) scaled up and predictablefinancial and technological support for mitigation andadaptation, and (e) institutional arrangements andgovernance structures.narf_1270 257..258

These pillars can be described as facilitatingmechanisms; on the one hand, they create enablingconditions for action, and on the other hand provide a meansof assessing progress in future years. The need now is tofocus on and identify the drivers of action. In what areas willaction take place, who will undertake action, how will theybuild upon the facilitation provided by agreement on thepillars? Not to belabour the metaphor, but while pillarssupport buildings, they do not take people from one level toanother. Recent analyses identify four potentially productiveprogramme areas that could drive the process. These arepotentially productive because they already reflect a broadglobal consensus, display considerable momentum becauseof a record of action in many countries, are stronglycorrelated with both climate change and sustainabledevelopment, and their impact on both these goals can bemonitored quite easily and transparently. These are:

A global public investment programme in renewableenergy.

A global technical assistance programme in energyefficiency.

A global programme of incentives for reversingdeforestation.

A quick-start on priority adaptation projects in the mostvulnerable developing countries, especially LeastDeveloped Countries (LDCs) and Small IslandDeveloping States (SIDS).

First, these are consensus areas. Every national strategyon climate change includes these four programs; they areconsistent with national priorities, i.e., sustainabledevelopment. Second, there is significant momentum, sincemany countries, including all large economies, already havesignificant investments in these areas. Third, to reach thenecessary scale, they will require international cooperation,including financial and technological support fromdeveloped countries, but also South-South cooperation.Fourth, they are amenable to clear and explicit target settingand outcome-orientation. The impacts of financial andtechnical support can be measured easily. Finally, they havethe potential of creating positive facts on the ground quiterapidly, which is essential for building trust betweencountries and justifying the assumption of additionalcooperative commitments.

Of the four programs mentioned here, two are alreadyvisible in the climate policy discussions as separate andidentifiable programme areas, namely forests, andadaptation. This specificity and visibility is one reason whynegotiations in these areas have moved much more rapidly.However, while there is broad recognition of the central roleof renewable energy and energy efficiency in addressingclimate change as well sustainable development, theyremain in the background of global negotiations.

Energy is the driver of economic growth as well ashuman development. It would be impossible for developingcountries to maintain their growth momentum without theavailability of expanding energy resources. Similarly, itwould be impossible to achieve human development targets,including Millennium Development Goals, withoutadequate access to modern energy services, especiallyelectricity. Developing countries are energy poor in threesenses of the term: first, their average per capitaconsumption of modern energy services is between one-fifth and one-twentieth of that in developed countries;second, large swathes of the population do not have anyaccess to such services; and third, the cost of these servicesis already so high that it makes it unaffordable for themajority of their populations except in very small doses.

Addressing climate change requires a switch torenewable energy as well as a reduction in energyconsumption (while maintaining economic welfare, i.e.,through energy efficiency). However, at this point

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renewable energy is even more costly that conventionalmodern energy from fossil fuels. The only way ofreconciling the goals of greenhouse gas abatement andsustainable development is through a strategy that explicitlyand consciously seeks to lower the unit cost of renewableenergy generation and thus to bring it within reach of peopleeverywhere, especially in developing countries.

While the delivered cost for renewable-generatedelectricity is still generally higher than for coal and gas, thecosts are coming down and will continue to decline. Theexperience in a range of countries, e.g. Germany, Spain andthe U.S., has yielded tried and tested policies for promotingand stimulating renewable sources of energy, includingfeed-in tariffs. These could be adapted and applied indeveloping countries. In fact, countries such as China,India, and South Africa are already adopting variants of afeed-in tariff. But scaling up and replicating these initiativesin developing countries requires financial support. A globalfund for renewable energy could support broader adoptionof feed-in tariffs.

Energy efficiency (in appliances, lighting, buildings,transport and transport systems, and industry) is repeatedlyidentified as a low cost mitigation opportunity, anddeveloping countries with relatively inefficient processesand technologies arguably have a large potential for low-cost efficiency gains. Every national climate strategyincludes a strong plank on energy efficiency. But variousbarriers (e.g. lack of information, inadequate incentives andlack of appropriate regulation) mean that energy efficiencyhas underperformed as a mitigation option. The core of aglobal programme in energy efficiency would be thetransfer of technology and knowledge. One model for suchknowledge diffusion is that of the Green Revolution.

Information technologies could facilitate knowledgesharing and technical assistance.

Highly vulnerable countries, especially the LDCs andSIDS, have outlined their adaptation needs. So far,international support for adaptation has not advanced farbeyond planning and some capacity building. The nationaladaptation plans of action (NAPAs) prepared by LDCsidentify specific projects that would meet their most urgentand immediate adaptation needs. The estimated cost is $1-2billion. The quick start process would begin by funding allNAPAs, as well as priority adaptation projects in SIDS. Thisis a small down payment on meeting adaptation needs of themost vulnerable countries. Funding could be acceleratedthrough contributions to the Adaptation Fund, usingstreamlined procedures and direct access. Watermanagement is a key area for support, and one whichintersects with the sustainable development agenda in areassuch as agriculture.

The articles in this issue provide informative insight intosome aspects of these issues. Running through them is acommon thread linking climate change and sustainabledevelopment. With each passing day, we get closer to thepoint where one of the planetary boundaries will be reached and climate change may well be the boundary that isclosest to us. The challenge before us is implementation ofa broad and swift response at the global level, where nosector offering avenues for mitigation and adaptation toclimate changed is neglected. It is high time we beganfocusing on implementing real solutions.

Tariq BanuriDirector

UNDESA Division for Sustainable Development

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