Developing Countries: Climate Change

Mrs. James
To ask the Secretary of State for International Development (1) what assessment he has made of the effects of climate change on people in developing countries;

(2) what assessment he has made of those developing countries that are at risk from the effects of climate change; which of those countries he considers to be most at risk; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Thomas
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has recently launched its fourth assessment report, to which the UK provides financial and scientific support. This concludes that the countries most at risk from climate change are those in the seven “mega-deltas” in Asia, semi-arid areas of Africa and low-lying coastal urban areas, as well as small-island developing states.

The IPCC also assesses the effects of climate change on people in developing countries. Of greatest concern are predictions of reduced rainfall in already dry areas, leading to a shorter growing season for farmers. Elsewhere declining glacier cover will affect freshwater availability for more than one-sixth of the world's population.

DFID has undertaken its own climate risk assessments in Bangladesh, China, India, and Kenya. One conclusion is that the early effects of climate change are extremes of drought and rainfall. These are having a direct impact on low-income farmers, and putting people at greater risk from floods and tropical cyclones. DFID is providing £24 million of research funding to the Climate Change Adaptation in Africa programme to better understand these impacts. DFID is also working with the World Bank on producing an index of climate vulnerability.