wfn.org | CWS - U.S. Policy can Shape Adaptation on Ground for Poor

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NGOs, Business and Science Leaders To Senate: Adaptation Funding Means Business

U.S. policy can shape adaptation on the ground for the poor,' says 
CWS  advocacy director

Washington, D.C., Sept. 19, 2009--U.S. financing for climate change
adaptation in developing countries will be a multiplier, generating
domestic business growth and a "pathway to global climate change
agreement," a group of business, faith, NGO, environmental and
development sector leaders told U.S. senators in a policy briefing in
Washington last week (Sept 14).

The Senate briefing's presenters emphasized the urgency of adaptation
financing and proposed appropriate mechanisms to support the most
vulnerable in some of the poorest countries. Rajyashri Waghray,
Director of Education and Advocacy, Church World Service, and Lily
Dodge, Senior Social Research Analyst and Manager, Calvert
Investments, were among the presenters.

The group, from diverse sectors, also pointed to specific domestic
policies deemed critical to strengthening human security globally,
increasing U.S. competitiveness and achieving global agreement on
climate change.

Setting the tone of the briefing, CWS's Waghray told senators,
"Climate change already is upon us.  As we speak and as policy makers
negotiate, the vulnerable and the poor already are adapting on the
ground."  She said U.S. and international policy can serve as "the
bridge to support and shape adaptation on the ground, linking local
and global" communities and action.

Preceding this week's UN Week of Climate Change Action, the September
14 Senate briefing was co-sponsored by the U.S. Climate Action Network
(US CAN), of which CWS is a member, and Senator Robert Menendez
(D-NJ).  Menendez is a member of the Senate Energy and Natural
Resources Committee and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations
subcommittee in charge of international environmental agreements.  He
has pushed for strong legislation on emissions reductions and a
stronger focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency as a means of
reducing climate change.

'Adaptation another word for economic stimulus'
"Setting the bar high on mitigation targets -- limits on greenhouse
gas emissions and shared financing for developing countries faced with
adaptation-isn't a deficit for the U.S," said CWS's Waghray following
the briefing. "For the U.S., adaptation is another word for 'economic
stimulus'-true stimulus. And financing adaptation spells new, green
American business development and jobs, while also helping developing
countries mitigate climate change."

Raghway said, "Those living in the countries most vulnerable to
environmental change bear little responsibility for those changes and
don't have the resources to address those growing problems."

CWS's Countdown to Copenhagen campaign (www.churchworldservice.org and
www.countdown2copenhagen.org) now is calling on Americans to sign on
to a national postcard campaign pressing President Obama's
administration and U.S. policymakers to attend December's decisive
global climate change summit, agree to cut carbon emissions that cause
climate change, and provide fair and just adaptation funding for
developing countries.

In regions of Africa, Asia and Latin America particularly, where some
of the world's poorest already are struggling with the impact of
climate change,CWS's own sustainable development programs are morphing
into interventions containing built-in adaptation and mitigation
education, training, techniques and resources. The global relief and
development agency's broader climate change-related Enough for All
initiative is particularly focusing on the impacts of climate change
on women and on the world's vital resource of water.
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