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A
daptation
and
M
itigation
S
trategies
the private sector the reinsurance company Swiss Re has established a
Climate AdaptationDevelopment Programme to build amarket for inno-
vative financial risk transfer instruments in low-income areas.
Munich Re initiated the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative in
April 2005 to provide a forum and gathering place for insurance-
related expertise applied to climate issues. It includes insurers,
climate change and adaptation experts, NGOs, and policy research-
ers intent on finding solutions to the risks posed by climate change.
Most of the novel risk transfer schemes being experimented with
are based on indexes that automatically trigger payouts. These
indexes can cover things such as rainfall (too much, too little), soil
moisture, hail, wind and temperature. Such an approach eliminates
the old-fashioned need for expensive damage and loss assessments.
It also decreases moral hazards, in that farmers who manage reason-
able harvests are still paid. Paying based on an index can also mean
very speedy payouts.
These schemes can work at several levels: the macro (in which a
national government and perhaps large NGOs are the main players),
the meso (involving corporations and small to medium enterprises)
and micro (involving farmers associations, banks and insurers).
Sustainable development
The new form of development required is, essentially, sustainable
development; meeting the needs of the present in ways that do not
increase the vulnerability of future generations.
Development that can be sustained in a world changed by climate
must be enabled by building the adaptive capacity of people and
defining appropriate technical adaptive measures. Adaptive capac-
ity results from reduced poverty and human development. Adaptive
measures require the institutional infrastructure that development
brings. Action must be fast, scaled, focused and integrated across
sectoral divides:
• Speed – wasting no time; climate change is
happening faster than science predicted
• Scale – growing numbers of people are in danger;
responses must match the scale of this change
• Focus – managing risks, building the resilience of
the poorest and enhancing the ecosystem functions
upon which they depend
• Integration – uniting environment, development
and climate change, managing synergies between
mitigation and adaptation.
One critical input to this new development process will be
the production and dissemination of appropriate climate
information, tailored to end-user needs and delivered in
a timely manner – particularly in developing countries.
Institutions at all levels have important responsibilities
tied up in this process. Local institutions should ensure
that dissemination of climate information reaches the
poorest and most vulnerable through appropriate exten-
sion services. National governments need to invest more
in climate and meteorological information, biophysical
monitoring and early warning – integrating such data in
their planning. Regional organizations need to become
more innovative in helping developing countries produce
regional climate information and knowledge.
At the international level, an improved knowledge
network is required where the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, together with other institu-
tions including the World Meteorological Organization,
disseminate climate knowledge in a rapid and regular
manner to developing countries. And all of this is
needed immediately.
Commissioners and secretariat staff visit Mali to find out how climate change is affecting local people
Image: CCCD secretariat