CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION : HOW CAN WE ENSURE CLIMATE CHANGE

INVESTMENTS ARE TARGETED AT THE POOR?

PACC2011

Moscow, Russia

November 7 - 9, 2011

Presented by:

Yulia Yevtushok – Oxfam in Russia

Umida Tulieva – Oxfam in Tajikistan

OXFAM

• Confederation of 15 organisations working in 99 countries to overcome poverty and injustice

• Long-term development programmes

• Emergency humanitarian assistance

• Advocacy and campaigning

• “GROW” – Oxfam’s biggest ever campaign – food justice in a resource-constrained world

CLIMATE CHANGE AND POVERTY

• Climate change is not just about polar bears, but about people

• Exacerbates vulnerabilities amongst the poorest

• Increased frequency of extreme weather

• Diseases spreading to new areas

• Increased water stress

• Climate forced migration

• The most savage impact in the 21st Century is likely to be hunger

CLIMATE CHANGE AND HUNGER• Rising temperatures and

changing rainfall means declining yields of key crops rising food prices

• An increase in the frequency and severity of extreme weather events can wipe out harvests

• The increasing unpredictability of seasons makes it hard for farmers to know when to plant or sow their crops

CLIMATE CHANGE IMPACTS IN TAJIKISTAN

• Extreme weather (drought,

flashfloods)• Natural disasters wiping out crops,

destroying infrastructure, livelihoods and houses

• High food prices increasing the level of poverty

• Lack of Information on climate change at community level

CLIMATE CHANGE AND WOMEN SMALLHOLDER FARMERS IN TAJIKISTAN

• Most of the debate on climate so far has been gender-blind • Many women in rural Tajikistan carry three burdens – working for

income, caring for family and growing food for household consumption

• Most farm labourers are women, due migration of able-bodied men• Agricultural extension and training projects often target men and

are not designed around women’s needs and availability • Smallholders farming needs skills in more cost effective

sustainable approaches • Climatic patterns are becoming more unpredictable and that this

is making planting decisions a riskier

FINANCE FOR ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE

• The Cancun Agreements:

– Re-iterated the developed country commitment to “Fast Start Finance” of $30 billion 2010-12, but did not decide any common reporting format

– Re-iterated the developed country commitment to “jointly mobilise $100bn / year by 2020” “from a wide-range of sources – public, private & alternative”

– Established the Green Climate Fund & launched the Transitional Committee to carry out design process in 2011

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND MAKE?

• The Green Climate Fund can mark a new path:

• The new fund should be a one-stop-shop, which channels a large proportion of climate finance flows

• Current climate funds are donor-dominated. The Green Climate Fund will ensure national ownership by recipient countries and “direct access” to funds

• Current climate funds largely ignore the particular concerns of women. The Green Climate Fund will put women at its heart

WHAT DIFFERENCE CAN THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND MAKE FOR TAJIKISTAN?Additional investments could limit negative impacts on the poorest:• Improved weather forecasting system

• Adaptation mechanisms in Tajikistan could reduce the level of poverty and improve the social economy in rural areas of Tajikistan

• Effective techniques and technologies could be transferred to Tajikistan in the energy, agricultural and water sectors

• A gender balanced approach would help to have equitable distribution of adaptation funds, especially in agricultural sector for women smallholder farmers in Tajikistan

HOW SHOULD THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND BE IMPLEMENTED IN TAJIKISTAN?

• The Green Climate Fund needs a more publicly accountable mechanism for decision making – and a focus on those who will be most affected by climate change

RECOMMENDATIONS

• In Durban, governments must adopt the recommendations of the Transitional Committee – ensuring in particular that provisions around gender, national ownership and direct access are supported

• Governments must ensure that substantial new resources are available for the initial capitalisation of the fund so that it can begin disbursement from 2013. Russia should contribute

• Contributors should guarantee that at least 50% of the resources provided to the fund are for adaptation

FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT:YYEVTUSHOK@OXFAM.ORG.UKUTULIEVA@OXFAM.ORG.UK OR VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT:WWW.OXFAM.ORG.UK HTTP://GROWWEEK.POSTEROUS.COMHTTP://WWW.CLICR.RU

Thank you

Tashakkur