Canada: 2a. Pre-Bilateral - Climate Change is Our Shared Problem

Environment   Sep 20, 2017 by Julia Chung

What are the most relevant actions/targets proposed in SDG#13?

The most relevant actions/targets proposed in SDG#13 is the third point, "Developed countries have committed to jointly mobilizing $100 billion per year by 2020 to address the climate-related needs of developing countries and to continue that level of support through 2025. Initial efforts to mobilize resources for the Green Climate Fund raised $10.3 billion and developed - country parties are strongly urged to scale up their financial support." This shows the developing countries, not just developed countries, are contributing to cope up with climate change issues by continuous funding, aside from the economical development. 

How do SDG#13 targets respond to the challenges created by the effects of climate change in water in both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities?

SDG#13 responds to the challenges created by the effects of climate change in water by countries mobilizing funds to support the project and implementing national and local disaster risk reduction strategies. Developing countries completed and submitted the first iteration of their national adaptation plans. 

What other areas do you think should be taken into account?

It would have been better if the website showed what was included in the iterations that the seven developing countries submitted in response to climate change, So far, they haven't mentioned about water issues regarding ocean acidification, especially the impact of marine ecosystems. Studies have shown that a more acidic environment has a dramatic effect on some calcifying species, including oysters, clams, sea urchins, shallow water corals, deep sea corals, and calcareous plankton. When a population of one part of food chain decreases, it effects other species in higher and lower trophic levels. Humans also include in the food chain, giving a negative influence to all aspects of economy, such as fishing and food industries. I hope in the future they would deal with ocean acidification. 

What elements would you incorporate if you has to build and action/target that addressed water, Indigenous peoples, and non-indigenous people? Provide a brief rationale that justifies that element. 

We need to talk with the Indigenous of their needs; in most cases, they are't able to have electricity or running tap water at their home. Let's say an Indigenous community wants a running tap water in each of their homes. First of all, we need consent from them if it's truly their needs. Then, we have to try to construct a tap without using foreign materials that will have a negative influence in their surrounding environment. After the construction, we need to properly educate them on how to use them, and how to deal with it if an issue occurs. Most of the times we just construct something for them and leave, without giving proper tools to manage and fix it. To the non-Indigenous, we have to make sure they know their usage of water. Especially in urban areas, water that goes to waste is exceptionally high. It would help in their course of action if the urban dwellers knew about their water footprints using online calculators provided in Activity 1b. 

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