Adaption: hope in the face of an increasingly bleak future

The news has not provided much hope in recent years regarding the welfair of Earths residents concerning Climate Change. News of the Planet hitting the symbolic threshold of 400 ppm makes Climate Change feel ever more real. Reaching 400 parts per million (ppm) will mean generations to come will not see this number to fall within their lifetime. 

In 2015, for the first time, CO2 levels in the atmosphere were at 400 ppm on average across the year as a whole, the World Meterorological Organisation's (WMO) annual greenhouse gas bulletin reveals. 

However, in the wake of these disturbing truths, the Small Island Developing States (SIDS) met on the 5^th October 2016 to discuss resilience building, and their potential to boost economic growth. The event highlighted the role SIDS could play as innovators of climate resilience.

Two panels discussed, how islands can serve as resilience “incubators,” and what other countries can learn from them about adaptation and dealing with climate risk.

In the opening session, Angus Friday, Grenada’s ambassador to the US and former Head of the Alliance Of Small Island States (AOSIS), highlighted that much work has already been done on the “soft” aspects of institutional capacity and institution building, including stakeholder engagement, communication and public awareness. He noted, however, that many homes in his country are not hurricane-proof, in the way that homes are in some of the wealthier SIDS. He added that damage for Hurricane Ivan had amounted to 200% of Grenada’s GDP and destroyed 90% of homes, and that there is “a bricks-and-mortar element” to managing climate risk.

Friday suggested that countries’ Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change could be the starting point for resilience building measures that promote economic opportunities – for example, through investments in renewable energy that can alleviate the high amount that SIDS households currently spend on electricity powered by imported fossil fuels. He also emphasized the possibility of using public sector funds to leverage private sector investments, highlighting Grenada’s development of a prospectus for international investors on potential investments in tourism, fisheries and projects that will build natural capital.

Multilateral discussions of Climate Change, resilience building and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) inevitably centre round financing. Attention was drawn to the way that SIDS in the African region are using debt-for adaptation swaps to raise financing for marine protected areas (MPAs). Many SIDS encompass far more ocean territory than land and therefore should invest in marine spatial planning to ensure the sustainable development of marine areas surrounding MPAs.

An example would be Seychelles ongoing cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the World Bank, and its work on issuing ‘blue bonds’ to support sustainable fisheries. Seychelles and Mauritius will be supporting Oceans Day at COP22, they will play a leading role in promoting African countries’ involvement in strengthening ocean resilience. 

Artful poetry used to spread the message of climate change

The Pacific Islands may not be known for their poetry, but powerful young voices writing and speaking on issues such as climate change, colonialism, language, identity, sexuality and sovereignty have been catching the attention of the art community (NBC News, 2016). One in particular, Kathy Jetnill-Kiljner, from the Marshall Islands (Perez, 2016). This artistic take on climate change comes at a good time as, increasingly, journalists and climate change advocates become frustrated by the lack of / poor reporting of climate change – especially in the Pacific Islands (Koroi, 2016).

Kathy was chosen to address the UN members on 23^rd September 2014 for the opening of the Climate Change Summit in New York. She represented civil society and delivered an emotional speech aimed at world leaders to address and find solutions on the issue of climate change, which the Pacific Island nations are already feeling the effects of. She ended her speech with a poem she originally wrote for her seven month old daughter. She received a standing ovation, a rare sight among the world leaders in the U.N. headquarters. She is a poet, climate change activist, mother, teacher, and performing artist (Perez, 2016). She is not the only one however, speaking up against the injustices faced in the South Pacific. William Alfred Nu'utupu Giles, is another, he is a Samoan-American poet living in Honolulu, Hawaii. He is a Kundiman Fellow, works at the non-profit Pacific Tongue promoting artistic expression in the Oceanic community. He is a Brave New Voices International Poetry Slam Champion, and is the 2015 National Underground Poetry Slam Champion (NBC News, 2016). These are two of the growing community of people rising up against the oppression of climate change, using artistic means to express their struggle.

Videos of the various poets can be found on the NBC website