Congress Takes Next Steps on Adaptation Funds
9 January 2008
New legislation will look at the needs of poor countries in coping with a changing climate.
by Anna Kramer
Just before the New Year, President Bush signed the 2008 Omnibus Appropriations Bill, a key piece of legislation that defines how the government will spend taxpayers’ money in the year to come. Tucked into this lengthy $555 billion bill—alongside funds for everything from bridge repair to veterans’ programs—is a provision that takes some of the first serious steps toward helping developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.
US Representative Hilda Solis, a Democrat from California known as a leading advocate for environmental justice, authored language in the bill that requires the US government to assess the needs of developing countries in adapting to climate change and to develop a strategy to meet those needs.
These provisions require the Secretary of State to convene a committee of representatives from the State Department, the US Agency for International Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency. This committee will closely examine the specific climate change adaptation needs of developing countries and identify gaps where the US can help by providing funds. The committee will report back to Congress with its findings no later than September 2008. This report could prove crucial for informing the climate change strategy of the next presidential administration.
Oxfam America, Friends of the Earth, and the National Wildlife Federation worked closely with Solis over the last six months to ensure that this language would become law.
Adaptation funds are essential for helping the world’s poorest and most vulnerable communities cope with climate change. Many poor communities are already facing more frequent droughts, shorter growing seasons, and increasingly severe disasters as a result of global warming. Assistance from the US and other wealthy countries can enable these communities to build disaster warning systems, improve water systems, adopt new types of seeds and other technologies, and diversify their ways of earning a living.
“Congress has not only recognized that the US must help developing countries adapt, but also insisted that the administration develop a plan to identify where these adaptation funds are needed most,” said David Waskow, Oxfam’s climate change program director. “Now, we must encourage Congress to take action and put substantial funds in place to meet those needs.”
Meanwhile, last month the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee took another step toward securing adaptation funds for developing countries when it approved a provision in climate change legislation to assist developing countries facing climate change impacts. The provision in the Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act, which now requires approval from the full Senate, would take revenues from auctioning permits for greenhouse gas emissions and use them to assist poor countries in adapting to climate change.
To address today’s climate crisis, Oxfam is asking the US to cut harmful greenhouse gas emissions and provide financial assistance so that poor countries can adapt. To take action, visit www.oxfamamerica.org/climate.
