September 19, 2009

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. financing for climate change adaptation in developing countries will be a multiplier, generating domestic business growth and a "pathway to global climate change agreement," a group of business, faith, NGO, environmental and development sector leaders told U.S. senators in a policy briefing in Washington last week (Sept 14).

The Senate briefing's presenters emphasized the urgency of adaptation financing and proposed appropriate mechanisms to support the most vulnerable in some of the poorest countries. Rajyashri Waghray, Director of Education and Advocacy, Church World Service, and Lily Dodge, Senior Social Research Analyst and Manager, Calvert Investments, were among the presenters.

The group, from diverse sectors, also pointed to specific domestic policies deemed critical to strengthening human security globally, increasing U.S. competitiveness and achieving global agreement on climate change.

Setting the tone of the briefing, CWS's Waghray told senators, "Climate change already is upon us. As we speak and as policy makers negotiate, the vulnerable and the poor already are adapting on the ground." She said U.S. and international policy can serve as "the bridge to support and shape adaptation on the ground, linking local and global" communities and action.

Preceding this week's UN Week of Climate Change Action, the September 14 Senate briefing was co-sponsored by the U.S. Climate Action Network (US CAN), of which CWS is a member, and Senator Robert Menendez (D-NJ). Menendez is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations subcommittee in charge of international environmental agreements. He has pushed for strong legislation on emissions reductions and a stronger focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency as a means of reducing climate change.

‘Adaptation another word for economic stimulus' "Setting the bar high on mitigation targets – limits on greenhouse gas emissions and shared financing for developing countries faced with adaptation-isn't a deficit for the U.S," said CWS's Waghray following the briefing. "For the U.S., adaptation is another word for ‘economic stimulus'-true stimulus. And financing adaptation spells new, green American business development and jobs, while also helping developing countries mitigate climate change."

Raghway said, "Those living in the countries most vulnerable to environmental change bear little responsibility for those changes and don't have the resources to address those growing problems."

CWS's Countdown to Copenhagen campaign (www.churchworldservice.org and http://www.countdown2copenhagen.org) now is calling on Americans to sign on to a national postcard campaign pressing President Obama's administration and U.S. policymakers to attend December's decisive global climate change summit, agree to cut carbon emissions that cause climate change, and provide fair and just adaptation funding for developing countries.

In regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America particularly, where some of the world's poorest already are struggling with the impact of climate change,CWS's own sustainable development programs are morphing into interventions containing built-in adaptation and mitigation education, training, techniques and resources. The global relief and development agency's broader climate change-related Enough for All initiative is particularly focusing on the impacts of climate change on women and on the world's vital resource of water.

Church World Service