Impacts of Climate Change, Adaptation Measures and Sustainable Development

Thank you, Chairman.

The United States believes that economic growth, environmental protection, and poverty alleviation all go hand in hand. Societies with increasing prosperity that is widely shared are inherently more adaptable to changing economic, social and environmental conditions of all kinds; and they are able and more likely to invest in environmental protection. Countries that have diverse and robust economies are best positioned to address the challenges and seize the opportunities of changing conditions. The United States has undertaken a broad range of activities to help countries become more resilient to potential climate change.

The United States was among the first to address climate vulnerability through the U.S. Country Studies Program, which between 1994 and 2001 helped 56 countries build their assessment capacities. They produced greenhouse gas inventories, mitigation plans and vulnerability assessments. Building on these efforts, we are fostering new partnerships to further knowledge gained through observations, assessments, and adaptation projects.

• Implementation of a Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) will link thousands of technological platforms in space, at sea and on land into one coordinated and sustained observation web. Over the next decade, the global Earth Observation System will revolutionize our understanding of the Earth and how it works. It will provide critical input for sustainable development efforts that promise to make peoples and economies around the globe healthier, safer and better equipped to manage basic daily needs. The Group on Earth Observations, created to carry forward this initiative, now includes 57 countries and more than 30 international organizations. The 10-year plan being prepared for adoption next February in Brussels includes integrating capacity building into all aspects of the GEOSS effort.
  
• The U.S. Agency for International Development will soon issue new guidance aimed at strengthening the capabilities of developing and transition countries to respond to climate-related impacts and risks. Application of the guidance will assist development partners and host country institutions to assess vulnerabilities and to evaluate and implement adaptation options for agriculture, water, and coastal zone management projects within USAID’s development assistance portfolio. The first pilot project to field test this new adaptation tool is beginning in Honduras, and others are planned.
• The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and USAID jointly fund Regional Climate Outlook Forums to provide advance information about the likely characteristics of seasonal climate in several sub-regions in Africa, the Americas, and Asia. The forums bring together climate forecasters and users to develop consensus forecasts and to discuss the best way to disseminate and apply the information, for example in the selection of crops to plant and the best locations for different varieties in applications to prevent famine.

Mr. Chairman, these and other practical efforts will strengthen the basis for sustainable development by improving the capacity of countries to respond to climate variability and to the risks and opportunities posed by potential climate change.