Presentation by Bekele Geleta, Secretary General, at the workshop on risk management and insurance organised by the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR) and the Informal Task Force on Climate Change of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) during the 14th Conference of Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change, in Poznan
Today’s workshop is a renewed opportunity to examine the issue of risks in relation to climate change, and to pinpoint the key adaptation actions that should be part of the agreement next year in Copenhagen.
I am happy to emphasise that this presentation is a joint one drawing on the inputs of the many institutional members of the United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction System and the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (on humanitarian action).
The problem of disasters is not new, of course. Human societies have long suffered from droughts and food insecurity, from storms and floods, and from other hazards.
What is new is the scale of the problem, and the likelihood that climate change is making matters worse.
It is important to remember that climate change may be a global phenomenon but its effects are local and human.
There are two elements that combine into disasters - human vulnerability and natural hazards.
The human hand in disasters is significant, for example through the destruction of forests and wetlands, settlements built in unsafe areas, poor housing, and lack of public awareness. Any of these factors can turn a common weather event into a serious disaster.
Unsustainable development is therefore a key factor in the growth of disasters and hence in our vulnerability to climate change. So this is the context in which the increases in extreme events predicted in the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report will impact.
Already there is evidence that changes are underway, with increased droughts, intense rainfall events, tropical cyclones, floods, and coastal inundation.
These trends are generally in line with the main thrusts of the IPCC outlook.
Let me now turn to what we have learned about disasters and how to reduce them. I have five points to make.
1. The policies and practices of disaster risk reduction aim to build resilience and reduce vulnerability to natural hazards. They offer foundational capacities to support adaptation, not only for coping with extreme events but also for addressing longer term changes such as degradation of ecosystems and water resources.
2. The international agenda for reducing disaster risks and disaster losses, the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015, was deliberately subtitled “Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters”. It stresses the need to integrate risk considerations into sustainable development and to build institutions, mechanisms and capacities at all levels to systematically build resilience to hazards.
3. We are fortunate that the institutions and tools to manage weather and climate risks are already well-developed. Sectors such as water supply, agriculture, food security, energy, environmental management, public health and disaster management have considerable experience and mature methodologies to deal with weather and climatic extremes. Nevertheless, in many countries the capacities to do so need support for greater development.
4. However, even the best efforts to reduce risk will not fully eliminate disasters and the need for humanitarian response to extreme events. Experience shows that effective action is required at three levels: firstly, local resilience and capacities to prepare and respond. Secondly, national mechanisms for coordinating and delivering humanitarian help in time of need, and thirdly, international mechanisms to provide additional assistance when required. Again, the institutions and tools are available, for example, through national government-led disaster management systems supported by the UN, Red Cross Red Crescent, and NGOs. But capacities need to be strengthened further, particularly in the more vulnerable countries.
5. Similarly, economic risks cannot be totally eliminated and measures are needed to ensure that individuals, companies, communities and countries are not forced into poverty or bankruptcy if a catastrophic event occurs. These mechanisms range from family level support through to national social safety nets, reserve funds and catastrophe bonds.
More on this topic will be provided in the presentation of the Munich Climate Insurance Initiative. With them we share the vision that risk transfer is an integral part of the risk reduction approach. Among other things, insurance can play a key role in pricing the risks that are present and providing incentives to reduce those risks.
I now pass the floor to Mr Julio Garcia of ISDR, who will describe some concrete actions. [Mr Garcia's powerpoint presentation can be found at http://unfccc.int/files/kyoto_protocol/application/pdf/iascisdrrisk.pdf]