Benefits of the Climate Change Programme to Kiribati.

1.     The whole world is now very concerned about climate change and the rising sea   level, and this is why they have adopted and are implementing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).  They implement the Convention principally in the manner explained below.

Vulnerability and Adaptation Assessment.

1.     Each country, like Kiribati too, is concerned as to how temperature, rainfall, seasons, known climate systems like El Ningo, ocean currents, sea-level will change.  There is assessment of the global temperature and sea level rise associated with the level of greenhouse gases projected by the year 2100, but each country understandably wants to know what are the likely local changes in temperature, sea level etc. 

2.     If country specific assessments, with reasonable level of accuracy, of temperature, rainfall, sea level  etc are possible,  countries should then feel more certain and therefore more prepared to make plans into the future that will overcome the problems brought about by climate change.

3.     The problems that are going to be faced because of the changes in temperature, rainfall, sea level, etc need to be identified, and can only be identified with reasonable level of confidence after we have known the changes. 

4.     The problems relate to important sectors in countries economies and to ecosystems and human activities that are typical in a particular country. 

5.     PICCAP is addressing the concerns 1-4 above with its ongoing activities for Kiribati.  If Kiribati believes that the concerns are fully justified and it should, then the benefits of PICCAP and other climate change programmes even at a global level consist in understanding how climate would change in Kiribati, and how Kiribati economic sectors, ecosystems and activities would be affected.

Mitigation of Climate Change.

1.     Developed countries need to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and  policies and measures, and programmes that they take in their countries are referred to as mitigation policies, etc.  They need therefore to report on their greenhouse gas emissions in the base year 1990 and regularly thereafter.

2.     Developing countries have no obligation to limit and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, but mitigation measures are to a great extent on the energy sector - generation of electricity, distribution, appliances, etc.  Energy is also prominent in the transport sector.  Because of these, developing countries perhaps see some opportunities for assistance in the improvement of their existing technologies and appliances, transfers of technologies, and development of alternative forms of energy.   It should be useful also to find out what other sectors and ecosystems in which opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions might exist. However, these opportunities should be grounded on the fact that known greenhouse gas emissions at a base year would be reduced by adoption of some other means and manner of the technologies etc.  This is why also greenhouse gas emissions are calculated by the developing countries; more importantly these calculations provide information to monitor global greenhouse gas emissions which amounts are the causes of climate change and sea-level rise.

3.     If 2 is important for Kiribati, then PICCAP provides one avenue to explore such opportunities.

National Action Plan.

1.     Clearly it is not enough just to stop at the point of knowing what are adverse changes in climate and how sectors and ecosystems would be adversely affected.  The next question is what can Kiribati do, firstly in order to minimise the adverse impacts on the economy, ecosystems, and activities?  This question is a difficult one to answer and not one that can be answered realistically without consultation with and participation of the wider sections of the community. An answer would be realistic only if it takes into consideration what is known from vulnerability and adaptation as explained above. PICCAP activities aim to facilitate the search for the answer.

2.     Similarly it is not enough to know which specific technologies, appliances, renewable forms of energy, and ecosystems might have opportunities for the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.  We need to know what actions need to be taken.  Again this is a difficult questions and the way in 1 above should be used also to develop an answer.

3.     The answers should be considered by government, and the decision taken will determine how Kiribati proceed into the future with the evolving climate change and the issues.

National Reports.

1.     Information gathered in the pursuit of desired course of global and national actions to address the problems of climate change and sea-level rise need to be recognised and taken note of, for the purpose of implenting the UNFCCC which objective it is to prevent climate change from progressing to an irreversibily dangerous situation for small islands such as Kiribati and to the world at large.

2.     UNFCCC represents the only structural arrangement and programmed activities for all country parties through which they can collectively prevent from happening any disaster arising from climate change and adverse impacts to the world at large and to any country such as Kiribati.

3.     PICCAP will provide a report to the UNFCCC Secretariat based on information from all activities as are required and explained in the notes above.