sustainable development 20 years on from the ... - José Eli da Veiga

107
Importantly, disaster reduction and adaptation policies are most effective and influential when
they are at the centre of national <strong>development</strong> planning and the responsibility of central planning
institutions. Financing for adaptation should be used to strengthen risk management and the capacities of
developing countries (ISDR, <strong>20</strong>10). In Argentina, for example, the Under-Secretariat for Territorial
Planning of Public Investment of the Ministry of Planning, Public Investment and Services and the
Secretariat of the Environment and Sustainable Development have developed guidelines for including
both matters in planning and territorial administration as a basis for guiding public investment. In Peru,
mechanisms are being created to facilitate the <strong>development</strong> of a concerted agenda for defining
<strong>development</strong> policies based on disaster risk reduction and adaptation to climate change.
As regards health impacts, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that climate
change is responsible for 3% of deaths worldwide from diarrhoea, 3% from malaria and 3.8% from
dengue fever; of these, 85% are child deaths (WHO, <strong>20</strong>09a). The lack of quantitative assessments
means that, so far, it has not been possible to incorporate into these evaluations the full range of climate
change-related diseases, which also include the health impact of temperature extremes, weather
disasters, photochemical air pollution and vector-borne diseases, as well as the indirect impact of
ecosystem changes and water shortages. The magnitude and potential severity of the effects of these
factors would indicate, even without tools to quantify them, that the actual impact is much greater
(PAHO, <strong>20</strong>08).
As regards climate change adaptation, one of the main challenges lies in incorporating
adaptation measures into national, sectoral and local strategies, policies and plans. An immediate
concern is how to determine the amount of resources that should be devoted to the design, planning
and implementation of adaptation policies and how those resources should be invested (ECLAC,
<strong>20</strong>10a). Together with international funding, the national funding strategy will be key to balancing
public finances in the face of pressure from higher domestic public expenditure. A variety of funding
sources should be explored, such as direct and indirect taxes, internal and external debt or budget
reallocation.
(b)
The contribution of Latin America and the Caribbean to greenhouse gas emissions
The Latin American and Caribbean region makes a smaller contribution to global climate change
than other regions. If greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from land-use change are excluded, the region
contributes only 8% of global emissions (see figure II.3) but, when land-use change emissions are
included, its contribution rises to 12% (see figure II.4).
Greenhouse gas emissions from Latin America and the Caribbean have been increasing
steadily since 1990. Between 1990 and <strong>20</strong>05, they increased at an average annual rate of 1.2%,
similar to the global average (United Nations, <strong>20</strong>10; ECLAC, <strong>20</strong>10a). The structure of emissions by
sector in the region differs from that of global emissions (see figure II.5). Land-use change in the
region accounts for nearly half of all emissions (46%) while agriculture accounts for <strong>20</strong>%, in contrast
with the global average, where emissions come chiefly from electricity, agriculture, transport, landuse
change and manufacturing and construction. Emissions per country in the region are concentrated
mainly in a few large countries and there are wide disparities in per capita share. The biggest emitter
in the region is Brazil, with a 52% share. Brazil, together with Mexico, the Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela and Argentina, were responsible for 79% of the region’s total greenhouse gas emissions in
<strong>20</strong>05 (see figure II.6).