Adaptation Gap Report 2020: UNEP

• 16 Jan 2021

Why in News

Recently, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Adaptation Gap Report 2020 estimated the annual cost of adaptation to the effects of climate change for developing countries to at least quadruple by 2050.

• The current cost for these countries is in the range of USD 70 billion (Rs 5.1 lakh crore) and may rise to USD 140-300 billion in 2030 and USD 280-500 billion in 2050.

Key Points

• Adaptation Cost:
  
  • It includes costs of planning, preparing for, facilitating and implementing adaptation measures.
  • The ever-increasing adaptation cost has also outpaced the growth in adaptation finance and that is the reason for a maintained Adaptation Finance gap.
    
    • Adaptation Finance: It refers to the flow of funds to developing countries to help them tide over the damages caused by weather events from climate change.
    • Adaptation Finance gap: It is the difference between Adaptation Cost and Adaptation Finance.
  • Adaptation costs, in actual terms, is higher in developed countries but the burden of adaptation is greater for developing countries in relation to their gross domestic product.
  • The developing countries, especially in Africa and Asia, which are least equipped to tackle climate change will also be the most impacted by it.
• Global Challenges :
  
  • Rising Temperature: The world is heading for at least a 3°C temperature rise this century, according to current Paris Agreement pledges. Even if we limit global warming to well below 2°C, or even 1.5°C, the poor countries will suffer.
  • The Pandemic: The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted adaptation efforts but its effect is not yet quantified.
  • Other Challenges: Last year was not just marked by the pandemic but also by devastating natural calamities like floods, droughts, storms, forest fires and locust plagues impacting around 50 million lives globally.
• Global Adaptation for Climate Change: Three-quarters of all the countries have adopted at least one climate change adaptation planning instrument and most developing countries are working on national adaptation plans.
• Some of the Indian Initiatives to Fight Climate Change:
  
  • India has shifted from Bharat Stage-IV (BS-IV) to Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms from 1^st April 2020 which was earlier to be adopted by 2024.
  • National Clean Air Programme (NCAP):
    
    • It was launched in January 2019.
    • It is a five-year action plan with a tentative target of 20-30% reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by 2024, with 2017 as the base year.
  • It has distributed more than 360 million LED bulbs under the UJALA scheme, which has led to energy saving of about 47 billion units of electricity per year and reduction of 38 million tonnes of CO2 per year.
  • The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission:
    
    • It was launched in 2009 with the primary aim of achieving grid parity by 2022 and with coal-based thermal power by 2030.
    • Aims to increase the share of solar energy in India's energy mix.
  • National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC):
    
    • It was launched in 2008.
    • It aims at creating awareness among the representatives of the public, different agencies of the government, scientists, industry and the communities on the threat posed by climate change and the steps to counter it.

United Nations Environment Programme

• The UNEP is a leading global environmental authority established on 5th june 1972.
• Functions: It sets the global environmental agenda, promotes the sustainable development within the United Nations system, and serves as an authoritative advocate for global environment protection.
• Major Reports: Emission Gap Report, Global Environment Outlook, Frontiers, Invest into Healthy Planet.
• Major Campaigns: Beat Pollution, UN75, World Environment Day, Wild for Life.
• Headquarters: Nairobi, Kenya.

Source: DTE