Prime Minister Mark Rutte y former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
In October 2018, The Hague became the theater for one of the most significant acts on climate change so far: the launch of the Global Commission on Adaptation. The initiative, launched by a series of high level personalities with the support of several countries, calls for stepping up efforts to mitigate the negative effects of climate change globally.
The Global Commission on Adaptation was launched and supported by a large number of high-level political leaders, including former UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, World Bank CEO Kristalina Georgieva, Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, Dutch Minister of Infrastructure Cora van Nieuwenhuizen. The initiative was supported by a wide range of countries from all over the world, namely India, China, South Africa, Germany, Canada, Mexico, the Netherlands, the UK, Denmark, Argentina, Bangladesh, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Ethiopia, Senegal, Marshall Island, Grenada. Moreover, the Global Center on Adaptation and the World Resource Institute are the Commission’s managing partners.
Among its different tasks, the Global Commission will supervise the elaboration of a report, containing precise recommendations, that will be presented in 2019 at the UN Climate Summit. The report will be elaborated by several experts and institutions from different parts of the world, and will not only highlight risks related to climate change, but also present concrete actions to be taken by governments, companies, and citizens to address such issue. In doing so, the Commission will form coalitions, bringing together the private sector, civil society, and other stakeholders in order to align actions in tackling the challenge of climate change.
Speaking about climate change, Minister van Nieuwenhuizen noted that the world is facing one of the biggest challenges in its entire history, and highlighted that the Commission is here “to begin changing the course of history and to secure the future of our global societies.” Similarly, Dutch PM Rutte stressed that tackling climate change is an extremely urgent issue, for which planning and cooperation will be needed. In this sense, he noted that the Netherlands has some expertise to share on water management, and it is already cooperating with countries such as Indonesia and Bangladesh.
Speaking about the fight against climate change negative effects, former UNSG Ban Ki-moon stressed the importance of adaptation, which is “the smarter thing to do,” but also noted that “not a single country can do it alone.” On this line, the German Minister of Economy advocated for the protection of the least fortunate. As World Bank CEO Georgieva noted, “it is a cruel irony that those who have least contribute to the climate change are the ones who are affected and least able to prepare.” In a touching declaration, the President of the Marshall Island described the effects of rising sea levels in the country, which “cannot be abandoned.”
Also, a number of high-level contributions, such as those of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, UK Prime Minister Theresa May, and incoming UN High Commissioner for Refugees Michelle Bachelet, came in via video. Bill Gates strongly praised the Commission’s focus on actions and results, and advocated for a prominent role of technology in leading the adaptation effort. Michelle Bachelet too contributed via video to the Commission’s launch, stressing that “we need to ensure all people have the tools to adapt” to the emerging challenges related to climate change.
In addition to the aforementioned speakers, several other high-level leaders attended the launch as part of the Commission: among them, the Prime Minister of Grenada, the President of the African Development Bank, the Secretary General of the IFRC, the Executive Secretary and the former Executive Secretary of UNFCCC, a Senator of the Philippines, a former Finance Minister of Mexico, the German Minister of economy, the Minister of Ecology of China, the Mayors of Paris and Miami, members of the UK Environment Agency, and the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica. Each one contributed with short and focused speeches on particular issues. Also some ambassadors attended the event in support to global actions on climate change: among them, the ambassadors of Japan, India, Costa Rica, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Argentina, the Philippines, Mexico, and Denmark.
While climate change remains a persistent and dangerous global challenge, it is encouraging to note that such a wide range of countries and high-profile leaders are actively trying to address this challenge.
