Dr. Sumaya ZakiEldeen at the COP13 in 2007
A little over an hour ago I interviewed Dr. Sumaya ZakiEldeen, a member of Sudan’s delegation and a professor at Khartoum University, along with Phil Rothrock and Doni Hoffman. While discussing Sudan’s position and her current work in capacity building, she called attention to the disparities in the resources and time allocated to climate change mitigation as opposed to adaptation. Currently, the effects of climate change are being felt most severely in developing countries, who tend to lack the resources and capacity to adapt to the changes. However, climate policy has paid comparatively little attention to adaptation, and in particular to helping poorer countries cope with climate change through the transfer of technologies, capacity building and financing of adaptation initiatives.
Her main concern regarding the outcome of the Copenhagen negotiations was how to get Annex I countries (developed countries that have ratified the Kyoto protocol) to provide stronger support for adaptation in a systematic way. Because developing countries have a historical responsibility for carbon emissions, it is necessary for them to be committed to sustaining adaptation. Unless developing countries begin to receive ‘real support’, coping with changes in climate will continue to be an impossible task.
Tags: adaptation, common but differentiated responsibilities, COP15 Resources, developing countries, Sudan
