CICERO Research Archive (CICERO Senter for klimaforskning)
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Mobilizing Adaptation Finance in Developing Countries
Get PDFMore funding is needed for adaptation to climate change, particularly in developing countries. Mobilization of adaptation finance is difficult due to uncertainties related to frequency, severity and geographical spread of climate change impacts, and intangibility due to a mismatch between long-term payback and the short-term horizon of private investors, difficulties in sorting out climate change related adaptations from adaptations motivated by other factors, and since many adaptation projects have public good properties.
Given these barriers, most adaptation finance has been stimulated from public sources such as bilateral and multilateral climate funds, as the private sector usually is deterred by the lack of a reasonably secured revenue stream. Furthermore, there is lack of regulatory policies that could create demand for adaptation projects from the private sector. Nevertheless, some examples of private sector investment in adaptation have occurred, most notably related to crop resilience, financial services, and business climate risk services.
This report examines barriers to stimulating adaptation finance within the context of different policies, instruments and approaches currently being implemented. Innovations related to adaptation finance have been produced, foremost creating a business case for adaptation in the agriculture and water sectors. Examples of innovations are disaster risk management for adaptation, climate insurance arrangements, credit mechanisms, micro-finance, green bonds, climate resilience bonds, and catastrophe swaps.
Proposed policy initiatives to stimulate increased adaptation finance flows include: Exploring crediting mechanisms; aligning disaster risk financing with climate adaptation policies; investigating micro-insurance for the lower socio-economic groups, and catastrophe bonds for institutional investors; promoting uptake of catastrophe swaps and resilience bonds to upscale financial flows; assessing aggregation and securitization for green bonds with proceeds earmarked for adaptation projects; and incentivizing adaptation in agriculture and water management
Fairness in the climate negotiations: what explains variation in parties’ expressed conceptions?
Get PDFThis is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Climate Policy on 31 Jul 2017, available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14693062.2017.1341372How to differentiate efforts and obligations fairly between countries has been among the most central and controversial issues in climate negotiations. This article analyses countries’ fairness conceptions as expressed in position documents submitted during negotiations leading to the Paris Agreement. A regression analysis investigates which country characteristics predict relative support for three fundamental fairness principles – Responsibility, Capability and Rights (needs). The most consistent and important explanatory variable turns out to be whether a country is included in Annex I to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which lists developed countries. This finding is compatible with the hypothesis that parties invoke fairness principles with the goal of advancing their own interests: non-Annex I parties wanted this particular scheme of differentiation to be upheld in the Paris Agreement, whereas Annex I parties advocated its removal. Notably, the outcome in Paris omits references to Annex I. However, the Agreement does contain multiple references to ‘developed’ versus ‘developing’ countries, hence introducing a more subtle and ambiguous differentiation than before. Post-Paris, seemingly technical discussions have encountered ‘roadblocks’ that partially derive from how the Agreement resolved the issue of differentiation between developed and developing countries. It therefore appears that negotiators will have to continue to deal with this issue, even though it may take on a new dynamic now that the Annex I division has less force. Looking for pragmatic solutions tailored to each substantive agenda point will be likely more fruitful than discussions at the level of fairness principles aiming for one overarching solution.acceptedVersio
One world or two? Science–policy interactions in the climate field
Get PDFThis article assesses how science–policy interactions are conceptualized in the social sciences with special reference to climate change and the IPCC. In terms of the dimension of distance (or proximity) between science and policy, we discern two ideal-type cases: a ‘two-worlds’ and a ‘one-world’ perspective. The first understands science and policy as independent spheres separated by a clear gap, while the second perceives science and policy as tightly coupled. These two perspectives, presented here in detail and in various sub-variants in order to show their complexity, appear dominant also in the discussions on how to improve, not only describe, the interaction between science and policy. We argue that this situation of opposing perspectives is not beneficial, nor properly recognized by scholars in the field. In response to this, we present a typology that may serve as a modest and judicious way for thinking about and making more nuanced choices in designing science–policy relations.acceptedVersio
Shades of Climate Risk. Categorizing climate risk for investors
Get PDFTaking a starting point in the latest climate science, this report categorizes climate change risk according to timeframe and probability by region and highlights risks that require immediate attention from investors. Complementing the recent recommendations from the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosure to disclose potential impacts of climate-related risks and opportunities, guidance on scenarios for stress-testing is also provided. The report finds that some impacts are already happening earlier than anticipated and new ones are expected in the time horizon used by investors
How to make local context matter in national advice: Towards adaptive comanagement in norwegian climate adaptation
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The Imperatives of Sustainable Development
Get PDFThe United Nations sustainable development goals are under fire. By attempting to cover all that is good and desirable in society, these targets have ended up as vague and meaningless. We suggest a model for sustainable development based on three moral imperatives: satisfying human needs, ensuring social equity, and respecting environmental limits. The model reflects Our Common Future's central message, moral imperatives laid out in philosophical texts on needs and equity and recent scientific insights on environmental limits. The model is in conflict with the popular three-pillar model of sustainable development, which seeks to balance social, environmental and economic targets. Rather, we argue that sustainable development constitutes a set of constraints on human behavior, including constraints on economic activity. By identifying indicators, and thresholds, we illustrate that different regions or group of countries face different challenges.publishedVersio
Climate Clubs: a Gateway to Effective Climate Cooperation?
No full textThis article has been published in a revised form in British Journal of Political Science https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123416000788. This version is free to view and download for private research and study only. Not for re-distribution, re-sale or use in derivative works.© Cambridge University Press 2017.Although the Paris Agreement arguably made some progress, interest in supplementary approaches to climate change co-operation persist. This article examines the conditions under which a climate club might emerge and grow. Using agent-based simulations, it shows that even with less than a handful of major actors as initial members, a club can eventually reduce global emissions effectively. To succeed, a club must be initiated by the ‘right’ constellation of enthusiastic actors, offer sufficiently large incentives for reluctant countries and be reasonably unconstrained by conflicts between members over issues beyond climate change. A climate club is particularly likely to persist and grow if initiated by the United States and the European Union. The combination of club-good benefits and conditional commitments can produce broad participation under many conditions.acceptedVersio
The Imperatives of Sustainable Development: Needs, Justice, Limits
No full textFor more information on the book, its content and the authors, see https://www.routledge.com/guilfordpressbooks/details/9781138714267?books/details/9781138714267/acceptedVersio
Quebec
No full textCategory: Second Opinion, Sector: Municipal Government, Issuer type: Local Government, Shading: Dark GreenpublishedVersio
