Adapt and survive: 5 ways to help countries cope with the climate crisis

From devastating floods in Pakistan, to wildfires in Siberia, the effects of the climate emergency are being felt across the world, and the United Nations is calling for more investment now, to help nations to adapt to an increasingly unstable environment.

All nations need to make major cuts to fossil fuel emissions and transition to a low-carbon economy, if we are to have any chance of achieving the aim of reducing global temperatures to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels. This continues to be the message from the UN but, with so many countries suffering as a result of more frequent extreme weather events, that are threatening food security and global stability, more urgent measures need to be taken, to help countries to adapt to an increasingly hostile planet.

Here are five tried and tested ways that nations can become more resilient, in the face of climate change:

1. Early warning systems

Research shows that a 24-hour warning of an oncoming heatwave or storm can reduce the subsequent damage by 30 per cent. Early warning systems that provide climate forecasts are one of the most cost-effective adaptation measures, yielding around nine dollars of total benefits for every dollar invested. With timely warnings, people can take early action by blocking up doors with sandbags to anticipate floods, stockpiling resources or, in some extreme cases, evacuating from their homes.

In Bangladesh, for example, even as climate change becomes more severe, the number of deaths from cyclones has fallen by 100-fold over the past 40 years, due mainly to improved early warnings.

But today, one-third of the global population is still not adequately covered by early warning systems. And while efforts have focused mainly on storms, floods and droughts, other hazards like heatwaves and wildfires will need to be better integrated as they become more common and intense. Earlier this year, the UN Secretary-General tasked the World Meteorological Organization to lead the development of an action plan to ensure every person in the world is covered by early warnings within the next five years.

2. Ecosystem restoration

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration launched by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and partners in 2021 triggered a global movement to restore the world’s ecosystems.

This global restoration effort will not only absorb carbon but also increase ‘ecosystem services’ to defend the world from its most devastating impacts. In cities, restoring urban forests cools the air and reduces heatwaves. On a normal sunny day, a single tree provides a cooling effect equivalent to two domestic air conditioners running for 24 hours. On coasts, mangrove forests provide natural sea defenses from storm surges by reducing the height and strength of the sea waves. Moreover, protecting mangroves is 1,000 times less expensive per kilometer than building seawalls.

In high altitudes, re-greening mountain slopes protects communities from climate-induced landslides and avalanches. For example, on Anjouan Island in Comoros, deforestation was drying up the ground and turning forests into deserts. With support from UNEP, a project has set out to plant 1.4 million trees over four years to hold back erosion and retain water and nutrients in the soil.

Keep reading at https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/10/1129532