Adaptation cost ended in smoke – By; Ihtisham Hak
Participation of more than 195 countries at Glasgow meeting last year indicates that climate change is a global issue at the time of corona virus pandemic. It is great concern for underdeveloped south and industrialized north. At the utmost possible ways, in the meeting, the developing countries expressed their vulnerability and exposure to climate change to drag adaptation fund. However, the developed countries pledged to support the developing countries by raising funds and to remain dominant in climate politics.
Almost being least effected by climate change the developed countries are the main contributor to climate change. The inexorable emission of green house gases and high consumption of energy by developed countries in present and past few decades witness their contribution to climate change. At the same time the developed countries are also extending fund to reduce the effect of climate change without compromise with their booming economy. It is estimated that $70 billion require each year for adaptation to climate change and the cost will increase year by year. The magnitude of adaptation fund by developed countries can be judged by this that only UK has extended 290 million pounds for adaptation.
In contrary to this the emission of green house gases and the consumption of energy by developing countries are negligible to that of developed countries but the effect of climate change in developing countries is very prominent. In the climate change vulnerability index prepared by German watch for the period 2000 to 2019, the 10 countries most affected to climate change influenced disasters are: Puerto Rico, Myanmar, Haiti, Philippines, Mozambique, The Bahamas, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Thailand and Nepal. Pakistan ranked in 8th position in this list. But the index was prepared without considering the indirect effect of climate change or the slow-onset processes effected by climate change i.e. scarcity of food due to drought and glacier melting or submersion of land due to increase in sea level. If the indirect effect of climate change were included in climate change vulnerability index position of Pakistan and Bangladesh might be in the top of the list. Because the former at high risk due to drought and melting of glaciers and the later is due to rising of sea level.
Population growth increase exposure
while poverty slow down resilience to climate change.
Almost the top countries in the climate change vulnerability index have two common characteristics, first poverty prevails in these countries and second all countries have high population growth rate. In case of Pakistan the population growth rate is 2.4%, which is explosive as compared to world having average population growth rate of 1.5%. The high bulge of youth population, in population pyramid of the country indicates further increase of population in the future. If the current growth persists the population will be double in the next 30 years. The effect of climate change will further infuriate with population growth.
Increasing population means increase the number of poor people, scarcity of water resource which is already tarnishing, more pressure on agriculture land and what is important of all is that higher exposure to the influence of climate change. As the poor people have no facility to recover or cope with climate change induced disaster, they are most susceptible to hardest hit by climate change. It is poverty that not only increase vulnerability, reduces coping capacity but also forced people to settle in disaster prone areas and discourage migration across national and international boundaries. High population growth rate and poverty, which are reciprocal to each other, is also recipe for climate change vulnerability.
Although developing countries are not contributor to climate change but they are responsible to their vulnerability by increasing their population. Not any mitigation strategy or adaptation plan for climate change seems viable without considering measures to control population and alleviate poverty.
