This, the second report from a coalition of UK environment and development groups, says that efforts to alleviate poverty in Africa will ultimately fail unless urgent action is taken on climate change. The report says that G8 nations have failed to 'join-the-dots' between climate change and Africa. Unless addressed, this could condemn generations in the world’s poorest nations. It calls on the July 2005 G8 summit to act now, or see human development gains go up in smoke.
The coalition calls on the G8 and the international community to urgently:
cut rich country greenhouse gas emissions: all G8 countries should commit to achieving national caps on emissions that are compatible with a fair a global solution that is rooted in human equality and capable of stopping dangerous climate change
help Africa leapfrog ‘dirty development’: The exploitation of fossil fuels in Africa does little for the development or security of its people but the potential for sustainable and renewable energy on the continent is enormous, and the market, especially in poor communities, is huge
increase support for small-scale agriculture: dramatically increased support for small-scale agriculture, and an approach to farming based on maximum appropriate diversification. Highly diverse systems, as opposed to commercial monocultures are more resilient and more productive
focus on local needs first: Africa needs to be freed from a one-size fits all development approach. Effective responses to climate change will differ everywhere depending on local circumstances, so a new flexibility is needed. The greatest challenge is securing livelihoods at the local level
support community coping strategies: global warming presents a huge challenge to the coherence and coordination of aid. Coalition members’ experience says that promoting disaster reduction at the local level by supporting community coping strategies is far more effective and has immediate benefits that stretch beyond just tackling climate driven disasters
release aid quickly and set targets for local and regional procurement: more efficient systems are needed to ensure that aid is released quickly and is well targeted when disasters strike. To ensure that there are long-term development benefits of money spent on disasters, targets for local and regional procurement should be set for governments and agencies. This would help prevent the leakage of relief money from affected communities
implement existing agreements on environment and development: the international community should implement the agreement made at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) to help Africa prepare for, and mitigate disasters at both a community and national level
map likely health impacts: the international community must help map the complex impacts of global warming and both ensure that resources are available to tackle them and that the development policy framework does not make things worse
initiatives must be made climate proof and climate friendly: all policies and programmes should face the test of whether they will leave people in Africa more or less vulnerable to the effects of global warming
new and additional funding: all funding to help Africa adapt to global warming should be new and additional to existing funds