Blogs
Kiersten and Shafir's Reflections to the GCF and Capacity Building Articles(Links Below)
Assigned Links
- Foreign Aid, Capacity Building and Climate Change
- UNEP Climate Change Adaptation Page
- Ghana launches Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme
- UK, Canada, help Ghana fight Climate Change
- Overview of outcomes from COP21:
http://www.nature.com/nclimate/journal/v6/n7/full/nclimate3013.html - Video- Report from UN water event at COP21:
http://www.unwater.org/news-events/news-details/en/c/358190/
How does the assigned BlueYouth theme relate to your country?
Kiersten:Climate Change is a global issue, and therefore requires a global response. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a means of forming that global response and so it relates to all countries. By working with other nations we are supporting an environment in which new ideas, solutions, and innovations may be formed. This begins with starting and engaging the conversation with other nations. Nomvula Mokonyane, Minister of Water and Sanitation for South Africa, puts it best when she explained, “ It can only happen if we have an international integrated planning approach…So that then together, we can all be able to respond to the effects of climate change.”
Shafir: Canada has a responsibility to assist countries feeling the effects of climate change right now, such as Ghana and Peru, because we are one of the largest polluters in the world. Canadia receives a fraction of the costs that an economically developing nation feels in regards to climate change right now. According to the article foreign aid, capacity building and climate change, developing nations take 70 to 80% of the environmental costs from global climate change. In Canada, we can assist countries taking the brunt of the weight by financially supporting them in their methods of climate change mitigation and with their infrastructure for climate awareness.
How does it relate to your country pairing?
Kiersten: Awareness and discussion is but the first step towards conquering climate change. There are many factors to consider when a nation approaches adaptation. Some nations may have the need and motivation to change, and yet may lack the means and capacity. This is where the UNFCCC plays an important role. Through the integration of nations, we do not only open the world to ideas and knowledge, but to also, funds and support. This is done through programs like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which gives the Government of Ghana access to a, “international financial mechanism,” and provides them with the means of adaptation. This is but the surface of what we can achieve. As a society I think we are just beginning to wake up and understand that climate change is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. In Schools we briefly go over the subject and are told that, yes it is an issue, but no little to any emphasis is placed on what the solutions may be. We are making progress, but through further awareness, engagement, and education, the UNFCCC’s objective, may be more easily reached.
Shafir: Brazil and Peru feel the effects of climate change more strongly than Canada does at the moment. All of our countries are receiving costs because of climate change, and we can all improve our climate change mitigation infrastructure. I believe that funding of capacity building should be a duty for all three of our countries to share.
What is the current state of this BlueYouth theme? In what direction does this theme seem to be evolving in your country and how does this compare with how you would like it to evolve?
Shafir: The Green Climate Fund is taking off well, providing financial assistance to developing nations to increase their capacity to manage climate change. However, the we need to push for more locally driven climate action. Our funding is best used when lead by individuals in the nations that are using these funds. A more local movement leads to a stronger movement within the country.
Canada and the UK have given funding to Ghana, Bangladesh and India, in the form of a 15-million Canadian-dollar project called Delta, Vulnerability and Climate Change, Migration and Adaptation (DECCMA). Canada is contributing to other countries, but I would like to see more action. I think Canada should lead by example and fund its own ventures into climate change mitigation. By 2018, a nationwide carbon tax will be implemented, but the nation still has the same inadequate targets from the previous government.
Kiersten: Awareness and discussion is but the first step towards conquering climate change. There are many factors to consider when a nation approaches adaptation. Some nations may have the need and motivation to change, and yet may lack the means and capacity. This is where the UNFCCC plays an important role. Through the integration of nations, we do not only open the world to ideas and knowledge, but to also, funds and support. This is done through programs like the Green Climate Fund (GCF), which gives the Government of Ghana access to a, “international financial mechanism,” and provides them with the means of adaptation. This is but the surface of what we can achieve. As a society I think we are just beginning to wake up and understand that climate change is an issue that needs to be taken seriously. In Schools we briefly go over the subject and are told that, yes it is an issue, but no little to any emphasis is placed on what the solutions may be. We are making progress, but through further awareness, engagement, and education, the UNFCCC’s objective, may be more easily reached.
What strategies to combat climate change and address these interrelated issues do you think are the best/worst for your country?
Kiersten: In a nation as large and vast as Canada, we absolutely have the capacity for adaptation. Yet it appears that action is directly rivaled by the health of the economy. Recently, Prime Minister Trudeau announced that all provinces in Canada would need to adopt a carbon price plan by 2018. As expected, the main criticism was how this would affect the economy. As it stands BC and Alberta already have a carbon tax yet provinces such as Saskatchewan do not approve. Balance is not easily achieved and with today’s economic climate, it is difficult to find a solution that everyone will agree with. Regardless of the outcome on the economy, this plan is a step in the right direction when considering climate change. Though in the future, if industry is the concern, perhaps we need to then explore adapting our industry towards producing clean energy. Providing education and creating jobs based on renewable resources.
Shafir: I believe action towards removing fossil fuels will be the best for our country, alongside green technology investment. I think the worst thing we could do would be to be inactive.
