Last month (4–9 October), more than 2300 government delegates, observers and intergovernmental organisations met in Tianjin, China in a search for common ground to achieve strong action on climate change.
A new book argues that the best approach to reducing poverty is the simplest: giving money to the poor. In Just Give Money to the Poor, Hanlon, Barrientos and Hulme argue that cash transfers put money directly in the hands of those that need it, and that the poor are both willing and capable of using the money to benefit themselves and their families. Given the uncertainties and pitfalls of spending money on climate change adaptation, could we do worse than simply giving money to the poor themselves?
For much of the developing world producing clean energy that also mitigates carbon emissions is a very low priority. After all, why should countries that haven't significantly contributed to climate change worry about reducing their relatively tiny carbon emissions? In any case who would pay for it all?
Interview with IIED's Dr Saleemul Huq on what the upcoming negotiations mean for the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), what funding options for adaptation will look like with the advent of the global economic recession, why media coverage from a LDC perspective is so crucial and what we can expect to see from the big hitters at the climate conference in Copenhagen.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has instigated several funding mechanisms in an attempt to meet adaptation needs in developing countries, however these funds have been heavily criticised by both the development and academic communities for being both fiscally and technically inadequate.
