Climate Group Profile

Background

Recent evidence shows that the build up of green house gas in the atmosphere is occurring faster than the most pessimistic scenario being modelled by the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). This information, reported prior to the COP 13 conference in Bali, has renewed pressure for action to mitigate the impact on the poor who live in vulnerable areas and to take action to reduce and offset these emissions.

There are two broad directions that can be taken to address this risk;

Risk assessment: study the specific risks for each vulnerable region and develop targeted plans for appropriate responses by appropriate local services, and prepare investments to protect infrastructure and productive assets, and
Reduce emissions from deforestation and degraded (REDD): assist communities who live in the degrading areas (and responsible for some emissions) to develop their capacity to reduce these emissions and off set these through bio-sequestration by changing management practices and to mobilise new carbon markets to augment the necessary investment.

The Institute for International Development (IID) has reviewed the literature and other work on climate change specifically related to the developing world and has concluded that there is opportunity for very cost effective work to be carried out in each of the above directions. Addressed on a sufficient scale, a significant cost effective contribution might be made by deliberately investing to off set carbon emissions in the tropics an activity known as bio-sequestration, because of the potential for improved photo-synthesis as well as other benefits that would accrue in terms of livelihood improvement and environmental services. See Feature Page.

As a result of this work, IID formed a Climate Group, combining skills from the Risk Science Group, planning and designing mitigation strategies for specific situations, and skills from the Company's core skills in rural development to assist communities to develop skills to take advantage of emerging carbon markets. Communities can identify the needed land management changes and mobilise other investment to off set carbon emissions in ways that will improve their livelihoods.

In addition, strong and effective working relationships will be maintained with leading public sector and academic institutions that work in the Climate and disaster risk management fields. These include the Climate Research Institute of The University of Adelaide, The University of Adelaide Community Development Faculty, the Bureau of Meteorology, Geoscience Australia (formerly the Australian Geological Survey Organisation - AGSO), Risk Frontiers (the Natural Hazards Research Centre at Macquarie University) and the Centre for Disaster Studies at James Cook University.

It will also maintain working links with leading carbon accounting firms in Australia, the US and Europe to provide access to carbon markets and the latest research on carbon pool modelling. IID's long experience with the major international finance institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and the World Bank provides us with specialised access to these agencies growing carbon funds.

By drawing on this very significant skills and knowledge base, IID is able to assemble expert teams and service links tailored to meet the requirements of any Climate Change task involving land based community development, reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) in the tropics and subtropics.

Our Approach

IID models its approach to Climate Change tasks on its experience in rural development, gained by its leading practitioners over more than 25 years in some 40 countries and for a wide range of International Finance Institutions (IFI)s and development agencies, such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the UN group and many bilateral development agencies such as AusAID, GTZ and USAID. IID models its approach to disaster risk management on the experience gained under leading-edge Australian and International disaster risk research programs, such as the Tropical Cyclone Coastal Impacts Program (coordinated by the Bureau of Meteorology), the Cities Project run by AGSO and the various international programs run under the UN International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction (IDNDR).