MARY ROBINSON REMARKS

Transcription

1 MARY ROBINSON REMARKS Roundtable discussion: El Niño doesn t have to be a disaster: a blueprint for action Geneva 06 December 2016 WORD COUNT: 1800 WORDS Excellencies, esteemed participants. Thank you for joining us today. This roundtable discussion will focus on concrete actions to bring about urgent change on an issue of critical importance. When the Secretary-General approached Ambassador Kamau and I to become Special Envoys on the issue of El Niño we accepted with two important caveats 1) that the effect of climate change on these types of weather events was explicitly acknowledged within the mandate for we can no longer ignore it and the escalated threat it brings; and 2) that we were also tasked with looking beyond the immediate crisis linked to the 2015/2016 El Niño. We did this not to diminish the importance of the current disaster. Rather, we did it because it has been so very destructive, because it threatens the achievement of the SDGs, and because this is not the first time we ve faced this challenge. We are convinced that El Niño and La Niña (otherwise known as ENSO ) events do not need to be disasters. If we are to achieve the SDGs and emerge from an endless cycle of crisis, response and partial recovery, they can t be. So what has brought us to this point? The recent El Niño has left behind a crisis of almost inconceivable proportions. More than 60 million people in dozens of countries in East Africa, Southern Africa, Central America, the Caribbean and the Pacific were left without enough food or water due to El Nino-linked drought and other weather impacts. This type of event has colossal implications that flow through entire communities, countries and regions. In the Pacific we ve also seen unprecedented cyclones linked to this weather phenomenon. And now, in combination with the emergent La Niña, we are seeing several African and Caribbean countries being pushed to the brink of famine, something that simply should not be happening in this day and age. Page 1 of 6

2 Ambassador Macharia Kamau and I have visited many of these countries in our joint role as the UN Secretary-General s Special Envoys on El Niño and Climate and we have seen firsthand how much suffering it is causing. We would like to show you a short video that explains what it really means, beyond the data and situation reports, for a family affected by this type of drought [cue animated video]. It is now clear that the changes taking place in our climate are affecting cyclical weather events such as El Niño and La Niña, making them less predictable and more intense. The new climate reality threatens to overwhelm even the most proactive countries, undermining human security, reversing hard-won development gains and endangering achievement of the SDGs. Many already-vulnerable groups are among those worst affected by El Niño including women, children, people with disabilities, people living with HIV and AIDS and the urban and rural poor. They must be the focus of our combined efforts to respond to this emergency, and to change our approach to future climate threats. As always, those least responsible for climate change are suffering most. Communities, governments and humanitarian actors at all levels are working around the clock to provide assistance to affected communities. While it s clear that many countries have taken steps to improve their response, including some that have been able to manage the response within their own resources, there is much more to be done and it needs to be done now. Lives and futures are on the line. I met earlier this morning with a group of donor countries to urge them to do more to meet the enormous need, in Africa in particular. What can be done? Beyond today s problem, we must also urgently address the challenges that tomorrow will bring. El Niño and La Niña are cyclical events. We can expect more in coming years, and we can expect them to be more intense. But here s the good news, these types of weather events can be substantively predicted, prepared for and their impacts mitigated, freeing up much-needed Page 2 of 6

3 resources for other more intractable crises and development challenges. This is why Macharia Kamau and I are developing a Blueprint for Action to help countries vulnerable to El Niño and La Niña to stay the path towards achievement of the SDGs, despite the changes in our climate. What is the Blueprint? The Blueprint is intended as a tool for Member States to rapidly improve the human security of climate-vulnerable communities, climate-proofing national development plans to ensure that early warning is translated into early action and national development is safeguarded from environmental shocks linked to ENSO events. It also provides guidance on the partnerships necessary to support these efforts both from the top down, and from the bottom up. The Blueprint will also support Member States to advance progress against relevant international commitments in an integrated and coherent way, building national resilience and strengthening international collaboration. The landmark international agreements of recent years provide a robust global policy framework for improving preparedness for, and response to, ENSO events. Each of these agreements contains critical components linked to ENSO events but their sheer number and complexity can lead to diffusion of effort in countries that are trying to implement them all at the same time. With this in mind, countries most vulnerable to ENSO events need a highly focused and integrated multi-hazard plan in accordance with SDG 13.2 that aims to fast-track the implementation of these most critical elements in advance of the next episode. These include elements like collective risk analysis and early warning, social protection schemes focused on the most vulnerable, sovereign and micro-insurance schemes, and real investments in climateresilient water and agriculture. The Blueprint sets out the key ENSO-linked building blocks that should be reflected in national multi-hazard plans. Please refer to the final page of the draft Blueprint document for further details on these. In many cases, the Blueprint can help affected governments and their Page 3 of 6

4 partners integrate and operationalise efforts. Where plans are already in place, the Blueprint can support governments to review them for completeness and focus. Blueprint principles The Blueprint is founded on a set of core principles that are key to success. These include the primacy of national ownership and leadership. There are incredible examples of nationally-led successes emerging from this El Niño but we also need to support capacity building so that all countries can be equally resilient. This can be achieved via North- South assistance but also, critically, through South-South capacity building. The Blueprint is also underpinned by a firm belief that costs associated with the needed changes must be shared equitably. The communities most vulnerable to extreme weather events linked to climate change are among those least responsible for the emissions that cause climate change. This means that there must be a special sense of urgency and responsibility among those most responsible to share equitably in the burden of adapting to the changes and mitigating the risks including those manifest in ENSO episodes. We also recognise that early action saves lives, is less costly and more effective. It is not sufficient to wait for certainty around an event or its consequences before taking action. Many early actions can be described as no regrets : they have a net positive effect regardless of whether the threat materializes. And last but by no means least, all responses must be built on a commitment to human rights and equality. Those most vulnerable to climate shocks are amongst the poorest, most marginalised and most exposed in any community. They have limited access to resources, credit, assets and support, and for whom a relatively small shock can decimate their livelihoods, health, safety and wellbeing. A concrete commitment to gender equality must also underpin preparedness and response efforts, recognising not only women and girls needs but also their capacities. The most effective responses are those that also recognize and encourage the leadership of women and girls. Page 4 of 6

5 Turning the Blueprint into a reality: The Blueprint for Action is not a magic bullet this is about taking much-needed steps towards long-term climate resilience, steps that will help to secure sustainable futures for all ENSOvulnerable countries. It has explicitly been designed as a modular and adaptive approach and we are working closely with Member States, NGOs, UN agencies, local civil society and technical specialists to ensure that it reflects the best possible guidance. As a first step toward implementing the Blueprint for Action, a small number of early mover countries could commit to the Blueprint approach early in Several countries have expressed strong interest in taking this step. Early mover countries could also use the Blueprint for Action as a platform to establish a coalition for change at national level. Bringing together the key national and partnerships identified in the Blueprint, coalitions for change could be cemented by a joint commitment or pledge document: setting out what different actors will do to implement the building blocks and providing a vehicle for dialogue and mutual accountability. To further turn the Blueprint into a reality, the IASC and relevant development partners are currently developing a set of voluntary SOPs to guide early and robust responses among UN agencies, development partners and affected countries. The SOPs set out a graduated set of actions that humanitarian and development actors will take, within agreed timelines, once early warning systems indicate an elevated probability of an ENSO episode occurring. Next steps We are nearing the end of a series of consultations that have taken us to New York, Marrakesh and Bangkok amongst others so your active participation in today s session is one of the last opportunities to directly influence the shape and direction of the Blueprint for Action before it is finalised. We are also consulting closely with donors as there is no question that the Blueprint will not achieve its promise unless we clearly demonstrate to donors that climate resilience plans are a Page 5 of 6

6 sound investment, and demonstrate to affected governments that taking the steps outlined in the Blueprint will be met with substantial, on-time and long-term financing commitments. Just as soon as countries have emerged from this ENSO event we all of us need to be ready to implement it, supporting the early movers first and then rapidly scaling up. We need to act with a sense of urgency and we need to act in unison. This is an unprecedented opportunity to strengthen the humanitarian-development nexus, taking small but determined steps towards moving from delivering aid to ending need. We have both short and long-term deadlines for action. The long-term deadline is 2030 when we will have to look our children and grandchildren in the eye and tell them that we did everything we could to make sure that El Niño and La Niña events did not harm their wellbeing and their futures. The short-term deadline is today. El Niño is still causing untold misery to millions and the next environmental threat may be just around the corner. But it doesn t have to be this way. I now invite participants to join what I m sure will be a fruitful discussion. Your inputs and expertise are valued and welcomed. Page 6 of 6