Background

Climate change is the resultant effect of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide methaneand nitrous oxide in the earth's atmospherepreventing heat escaping from the atmosphere.Human induced greenhouse gas emissionsaccount for much of the problem. Researchhas shown that climate and ecosystems arealready changing as a result of human activities, and projected warming of 2 to 2.5degrees centigrade and significant impacts onglobal agriculture and food prices by 2050.

Around the world, the climate is changing. TheIntergovernmental Panel on Climate Change,Third Assessment Report 2001 concluded thatglobal warming has accelerated in recent decades and there is new stronger evidence that most ofthe warming over the last 50 years is attributable to the increase in greenhouse gas emissionsassociated with human activities.For this cause therefore, the United Nations is convening all world leaders in Copenhagen,Denmark from 7th-18th December 2009 to deliberate on the climate change challenge tocome up with a new international policy regime on climate change. Despite this, recent process negotiations held in September in Barcelona were grim and collapsed.It's now common knowledge that no legal deal is possible in Copenhagen in Denmark. Most likelyis hopeful fudge in which all parties remain on speaking terms and seal the deal in 2010. A totalcollapse would leave 20 years' of negotiations in tatters and the world unprotected against the ravages of global warming.

What Environmental Alert is doing to

support climate change adaptation:

Environmental Alert (EA) a Ugandan NGOfounded in 1988 has a vision of a poverty andhunger-free society that, is able to manage andsustain its natural resources base for attainmentof sustainable livelihoods including addressingclimate change. EA's new program, titled,'Harnessing the Environment for Inclusive and

Sustained Development,' 2009-2011,' has 3program areas and 1 institutional componentincluding addressing natural resource degrada-tion and action on Climate Change; enhancingfood and malnutrition security; promotion ofenvironmentally sound community environ-ment and Natural Resource based enterprises;and organizational capacity to address devel-opment issues. EA implements her development program in geographical areas which were identified as hotspotsfor high rate of natural resources degradation, high poverty levels and food insecurity for livelihoods for purposes of leveraging but may occasionally be an entry point to area-wide ecosys-tem based interventions. i.e. West Nile Region in the districts of Adjumani, Moyo and Yumbe,Eastern Region in the districts of Tororo and Sironko; Central region in the districts of Wakiso andKampala; Western region in the districts of Kyenjojo, Mubende and Kamwenge. Specific to naturalresources management, in the new program EA has evolved an ecosystems approach to planningand development which is holistic and involves area wide ecosystem based interventions.

EA in her current program portfolio, 2009-2011 enhances capacities of rural poor communities toattain sustainable livelihoods and adapt to climate change through natural resources enterprises. Inorder to achieve this, EA is facilitating climate change actions and initiatives for mainstreaming cli-mate change adaptation actions in planning and development programs implementation at vari-ous levels including community, local and national. This is achieved through creating awarenessfor actions among key stakeholders; capacity enhancement of knowledge and skills for key stake-holders; supporting community and local climate change adaptation capacity in agriculture andnatural resources management. At the com-munity and local level these interventionshave been implemented in the West Nileregion specifically Moyo, Adjumani andYumbe districts in the River Nile basin.

Key issues on climate change for

consideration ahead of the Copenhagen

Climate Change Summit:

Climate change has far reaching impacts onlivelihoods and economic development,which calls for immediate action. The climatechange summit in Copenhagen scheduled for7-18th December 2009 is expected to be afundamental platform for shaping futureglobal actions on climate change throughdialogue and discussions. From the perspec-tive of a developing economy like Uganda,our delegates should keen on the followingkey issues during the negotiations:

� The very low response, levels of aware-ness and prioritization of inevitable

response to situations like hunger arisingfrom floods and drought;

� The low responsive planning and budgeting,piloting and capacity building for adapta-tion;

� Lack of a clear African position on climatechange ahead of the climate change sum-mit;

� Agreement on two legally binding instru-ments i.e. the Bali Action Plan and KyotoProtocol to ensure committed actions aremet by the parties;

� Get reducing emissions from deforestationand forest degradation (REDD ++) on theagenda for the negotiations to provide for amore inclusive arrangement covering thescope of least developing countries concernsin particular land use;

� Industrialized developed nations will need topay billions in reparations for damage to theearth's climate;

� The cost to build the global clean energyinfrastructure essential to staunch the car-bon from coal and gas power stations,which are responsible for a large part ofglobal emissions should to met by theindustrialized developed nations;

� Practical means of promoting and support-ing appropriate technology transfer toenhance climate change adaption in developing countries like Uganda.

Conclusions and recommendations:

In Uganda, emerging initiatives are largelyfragmented with slow and latent coordina-tion of efforts in a context of decliningopportunities for arresting the situation orleverage engagement in negotiating equi-table global engagements to address globalclimate change and support the less devel-oped communities to adapt. Climate changethreatens to undo many decades of devel-opment efforts thereby frustrating andundermining the achievement of the UnitedNations Millennium Development Goals of

eradication of extreme poverty and hunger and integrating the principles of sustainable develop-ment into country policies and policies and programmes and reverse loss of the environment.Climate change affects everybody's responsibility but in Uganda citizens are carrying on businessas usual. The cost in terms of damage to life, property, ecosystems and reversal of current out-comes of investments in poverty reduction is huge. Therefore, the following key actions as spear-headed by key stakeholders are critical towards building resilience of the most vulnerable commu-nities against the impacts of climate change:

Push and Pull at Climate Change Negotiations, What should the new Climate

Change regime look like after the Copenhagen Summit in December 2009?

EENNVVIIRROONNMMEENNTTAALL AALLEERRTT ADVERTORIAL

The New Vision, Monday, November 30, 2009 59

Some facts about climate change

� Average global temperatures are rising, making the20th century the world has ever seen in 1,000 years,since the 1980s were the warmest decades on record.

� Climate change and the threat of related extremeconditions like flood and droughts have major implications for development particularly in poorcountries like Uganda.

� Already, countries like Uganda have borne the effectsof climate with clear changes in precipitation (rain-fall), water availability, length of seasons, incidents ofextreme weather patterns, floods, desertification, distribution and prevalence of pests and diseases.

� Areas like Kabaale that used to have cold weatherare now warming up which has increased incidents ofmalaria than previously reported.

� About 40% of all the carbon emitted by human activity has come from cutting forests. Stoppingdeforestation is, in principle, cheap and simple.

Some facts about climate change

� Average global temperatures are rising, making the20th century the world has ever seen in 1,000 years,since the 1980s were the warmest decades on record.

� Climate change and the threat of related extreme con-ditions like flood and droughts have major implicationsfor development particularly in poor countries likeUganda.

� Already, countries like Uganda have borne the effectsof climate with clear changes in precipitation (rainfall),water availability, length of seasons, incidents ofextreme weather patterns, floods, desertification, distri-bution and prevalence of pests and diseases.

� Areas like Kabaale that used to have cold weather arenow warming up which has increased incidents ofmalaria than previously reported.

� About 40% of all the carbon emitted by human activityhas come from cutting forests. Stopping deforestationis, in principle, cheap and simple.

Climate change discourse and key milestones at

international level

� 1979 - First World Climate Conference held

� 1985 - United Nations Environmental Program/ WorldMetrological Organization held the conference on greenhouse emissions especially carbondioxide

� 1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeestablished by United Nations Environmental Program/World Metrological Organization (www.ipcc.ch)

� 1994 - United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change came into force

� 1997 - Kyoto Protocol drawn up and came into force in2005. The United States of America, one of the leadingpolluters refused to sign it

� 2006 - Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Developmentwhich comprises of USA, Australia, China, India,South.Korea and Japan

� 2006 - Stern report highlighting the economic rationaleand implication for Climate change published

� 2007 - Thirteeth conference of parties in Bali, whichdrew a roadmap towards Copenhagen 2009" inter aliaagrees adaptation fund for developing countries

� 2009 - Climate Change Summit scheduled on 8-17thDecember 2009 during which a new climate change poli-cy regime will be developed.

Key action Key stakeholder

Spearheading, coordinating and funding

implementation of the Ugandan National

Adaptation Programs of Action on climate

change

Climate Change Unit under the Ministry of

water and environment, Civil Society

organizations, Development Partners

Developing a national policy and institutional

framework to guide effective responses to

climate change impacts in Uganda at

community, local and national levels

Uganda Cabinet, Climate Change Unit under

the Ministry of Water and Environment,

Development Partners

Strengthening human resources and logistical

capacity at the climate change unit and local

government levels

Government of Uganda through Ministry of

Water and Environment and the Mi nistry of

Finance, Planning and Economic

Development, Ministry of Local Government,

Metrology Department

Mainstreaming climate change adaptation

actions in development planning, programs

and implementation informed by the

anticipated climate variability

National Planning Authority, All Ministries, All

Government parastatals, Local Governments,

Civil Society Organizations, Academia,

Research Institutions,

Strengthening the generation and

dissemination of accurate climate change

information and early war ning systems

Metrology department, Ministry of Water and

Environment, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal

Industries and Fisheries

Deepening awareness for adaptations actions

on climate change impacts at the local and

community levels

Civil Society Organiza tions, media, Religious

and cultural institutions Parliamentary Forum

on Climate Change among others

Strengthening disaster preparedness and risk

management at community level

Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of

disaster preparedness, Civil Socie ty

Organizations, Development Partners

Environmental Alert, P. O. Box 11259, Kampala, Uganda; Tel.: 0414510547 or510215; Email: envalert@envalert.org Website: www.envalert.org

Climate change discourse and key milestones at

international level

� 1979 - First World Climate Conference held

� 1985 - United Nations Environmental Program/ WorldMetrological Organization held the conference on greenhouse emissions especially carbondioxide

� 1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changeestablished by United Nations Environmental Program/World Metrological Organization (www.ipcc.ch)

� 1994 - United Nations Framework Convention onClimate Change came into force

� 1997 - Kyoto Protocol drawn up and came into force in2005. The United States of America, one of the leadingpolluters refused to sign it

� 2006 - Asia-Pacific Partnership for Clean Developmentwhich comprises of USA, Australia, China, India,South.Korea and Japan

� 2006 - Stern report highlighting the economic rationaleand implication for Climate change published

� 2007 - Thirteeth conference of parties in Bali, whichdrew a roadmap towards Copenhagen 2009" inter aliaagrees adaptation fund for developing countries

� 2009 - Climate Change Summit scheduled on 8-17thDecember 2009 during which a new climate changepolicy regime will be developed

Key focus on Uganda's Negotiations position

� Reduction in green house gas emissions

� Access to substantial financial resources for climatechange adaptation

� Enhancing existing technologies for climate changeadaptation

People walking through a flooded area in Teso