5 of 31

Write now Article Tools

Page 2 of 2

to catch up with the rest of the world, without being fettered by energy efficiency constraints. He and research assistant Kevin Ummel conclude that at current rates, developing nations would have a climate change disaster all their own, even if the North (the developed world) had never existed.

The Bangkok Climate Change Talks took place between March 31 and April 4, 2008, at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). These talks continued the work accomplished in December, 2007, in Bali, Indonesia, which yielded the Bali Roadmap, a comprehensive plan for eliminating the risks associated with global climate change. These recent world conferences on climate change are legitimized by the participation of both developed and developing nations, widely seen as critical to the success of any such venture.

On the ground efforts to either mitigate or adapt to the effects of climate change depend on the establishment of alliances among governmental, financial, and nongovernmental groups in order to create the kind of systemic changes needed to address the problem. Equally important factors are the degree to which intellectual property law encourages technological innovation and the role of international trade agreements in facilitating sharing of carbon reducing strategies among nations. Solar technologies, for example, have traditionally been off-patent, eliminating potentially prohibitive costs at start-up for smaller firms. Importation of lower carbon cost biofuels from Brazil to the United States, on the other hand, is made difficult by United States trade law.

From building fuel efficient stoves in Darfur, to creating green water systems in Indonesia, to designing waterless toilets for sub-Saharan Africa, innovation is the response of many who are sensitive to the needs of developing nations in surviving a natural environment made more dangerous by climate change. Efforts like these can only succeed by the presence at the crossroads of so many previously incompatible forces, now working together to solve the problem of climate change.

References
LeMelle, Gerald. "Africa Policy Outlook 2008," Washington, DC: Foreign Policy In Focus, February 7, 2008. . Accessed April 5, 2008.

Paulson Henry, Alistair Darling, and Fukushiro Nukaga. "Financial bridge from dirty to clean energy." Financial Times. February 7, 2008. . Accessed April 5, 2008.

Tan, Celine. "World Bank's Climate Funds May Undermine UNFCCC Talks." March 17, 2008. Accessed April 6, 2008 on Third World Networks' website.

Wheeler, David. "A Solar Future for the World Bank in Southern Africa?" Posted February 19, 2008. . Accessed April 5, 2008.

Wheeler, David and Kevin Ummel. "Another Inconvenient Truth:
A Carbon-Intensive South Faces Environmental Disaster,
No Matter What the North Does." Center for Global Development. December, 2007. . Accessed April 5, 2008.

Witoelar, Rachmat. "The Bali Roadmap: Address To Closing Plenary" 15 December 2007. . Accessed April 6, 2008.

March, Elizabeth. "Climate Change The Technology Challenge."
February, 2008. Accessed April 6, 2008 from the World Intellectual Property Organization Web site.

Darfur stoves: Story accessed from CHF International website April 5, 2008.

African toilets: Accessed from Ashoka Web site April 5, 2008.

Indonesian water system: Accessed from CHF International Web site April 5, 2008. .

Learn more about this author, Phyllis Capanna.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

• << previous page
• 1
• 2

Add your voice

Know something about How developing countries are adapting or preparing to adapt to the impacts of global climate change?
We want to hear your view. Write now!