7 Conclusion
156. According to the UNDP, climate change is "the
defining human development issue of our generation. No issue merits
more urgent attention or more immediate action."[201]
Lord Stern referred to the battle against poverty and the management
of climate change as the two great challenges of the 21st
century.[202] Climate
change should be an issue which transforms the way DFID works
in developing countries. Yet seven years after our predecessors'
report on this subject we find that DFID still does not have an
overall framework for addressing the impacts of climate change
on the countries most at risk.
157. Developing countries will need significant assistance
to adjust to the impact of climate change. This in turn will require
effective and additional finance both in the near term and in
the future. In the current economic climate this will be a challenge
but, as we said in our recent Report on Aid under Pressure,
it is even more important given the increased vulnerability which
the economic downturn has caused in poor countries. DFID's forthcoming
White Paper should address the issues of climate change directly
and give a clear commitment that the UK will do its part to provide
the necessary additional funding for mitigation and adaptation,
to promote low carbon growth and to secure livelihoods in an increasingly
fragile environment.
158. The UNFCCC climate change conference in December
offers an important opportunity for the world to act now to prevent
a more dangerous climate for future generations. We expect the
Government to show leadership in working towards an agreement
by adopting positions which are equitable and work in the interests
of the world's poorest people.
201 UNDP, Fighting Climate Change, Human Development
Report 2007/08 Back
202
Nicholas Stern, The economic crisis and the two great challenges
of the 21st century, a speech delivered at the
DFID Conference on Securing our Common Future, 9 March 2009 Back
| 
