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From Debatepedia

This page is a portal for The People Speak's Spring 2010 Global Debates. It provides resources and links on the topic of the contest as well as for the adaptation plans to be written by student-contestants. The topic for this year's debate is:

"Annex I Countries of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) should provide significantly increased aid to developing countries for the specific purpose of climate change adaptation."

See Debatepedia's pro/con article on the topic here.

Student participants will also be required to submit an adaptation plan for a specific country and a specific climate change threat paired with that country. Here are students' five possible scenarios:

1. Country: Ethiopia. Threat: Drought
2. Country: Bangladesh. Threat: Flooding
3. Country: Philippines. Threat: Storms (more frequent, more intense)
4. Country: Maldives. Threat: Sea level rise
5. Country: Malawi. Threat: Uncertainty in agriculture, food deficits

See links to resources for these scenarious at the bottom of the page.

Here is the guide and worksheet for constructing your climate change adaptation plan:

• Guide for your Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
• Worksheet for your Climate Change Adaptation Plan.
• Also see the MLA referencing style guide to ensure proper citation methods in your essays, or you see the guides of various other citation methods by linking from Wikipedia's citation article.

Below are links to resources that will be of use to both the larger debate topic and to the country-specific and scenario-specific plans.

Good starting places

• Debatepedia: Debate: Increase UN Annex I aid for climate change adaptation
• Debatepedia: Debate: Developed countries have a higher obligation to combat climate change
• Wikipedia: Adaptation to global warming
• Debatepedia: Global climate change portal
• How much climate aid is enough? New York Times Room for Debate. December 11th, 2009
• "Europe Pledges Billions in Climate Funding." New York Times. December 11th, 2009
• WikiAdapt, WeAdapt.

Primary resources (reports and studies)

• World Bank report press release: "Adapting to Climate Change to Cost US$75-100 Billion a year." November. 2009. Full Report.
• US Environmental Protection Agency. "Climate Change - Health and Environmental Effects. Adaptation"
• USAID: "Adapting to climate variability and change." August 2007
• IPCC Report: Climate Change 2001: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability
• IPCC Report: Assessment of adaptation practices, options, constraints and capacity
• UNFCCC: Adaptation Fund
• International Center for Climate Governance, Seraina Buob: "Global Climate Change and the Funding of Adaptation." April 2-3, 2009
• US Environmental Protection Agency on Adaptation
• Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS): "The Importance of Adaptation, especially to address the needs of the vulnerableManaging the unavoidable and avoiding the unmanageable." September 27, 2009
• Coping with Climate Change. The Role of Adaptation in the United States. Pew Center on Global Climate Change
• "Risks, opportunities, and adaptation to climate change." Climate Research. 1998
• United Nations Development Programme on Adaption to Climate Change
• Poverty in Climate Change. Institute of Development Studies
• Stockholm Environment Institute: "Financing Adaptation to Climate Change." 2008

News articles on adaptation and climate aid

• "Adaptation To Global Climate Change Is An Essential Response To A Warming Planet." ScienceDaily. Feb. 8, 2007
• Lauren Morello and Sara Goodman. "House bill shifts focus to climate change adaptation." New York Times Climate Wire. April 1, 2009
• John Laumer. "The Importance Of Climate Change Adaptation." Philadelphia. December 11th, 2007
• Benjamin Cottin. "Adaptation to Climate Change, the New Priority." Suite101. November 25, 2009

Articles on developing world responsibilities on climate aid

• "China says Developed Countries bear “unshirkable responsibility” for causing global warming; Temperature in Beijing hits record high for February". Fin Fact, Ireland. February 6, 2007
• "UN: Rich Nations Must Lead Fight Against Global Warming". eNews. November 27th 2007
• Li Heng. "Developed Countries Most to Blame for Climate Change." China.org. May 24, 2007
• "China reiterates developed nations' obligation in anti-global warming efforts". China View. March 16, 2008
• "China says developed countries must bear global warming burden". Associated Press. November 22, 2007
• Andrew Revkin. "Imagine Everyone Was Equal, in Emissions". New York Times blog Dot Earth. February 15, 2008
  
• "Business leaders urge wealthy nations to take lead in global warming battle". Associated Press. June 20, 2008
• Anup Shah. "Climate Justice and Equity". Global Issues. January 01, 2008
• Jim Hardley. "China Says Rich Countries Should Take Lead on Global Warming". New York Times. February 7, 2007
• "Hu urges 'common but differentiated responsibilities'". China Daily. June 8, 2007
• "UN: Rich Nations Must Lead Fight Against Global Warming". eNews. November 27th 2007
• Chris Buckley. "China Says Global Warming in Hands of Wealthy Nations". Reuters. February 7, 2007
• Li Heng. "Developed Countries Most to Blame for Climate Change." China.org. May 24, 2007
• "China reiterates developed nations' obligation in anti-global warming efforts". China View. March 16, 2008
• "China says developed countries must bear global warming burden". Associated Press. November 22, 2007
• Andrew Revkin. "Imagine Everyone Was Equal, in Emissions". New York Times blog Dot Earth. February 15, 2008
• "A Global Solution to A Global Problem". Global Commons Institute
• "Business leaders urge wealthy nations to take lead in global warming battle". Associated Press. June 20, 2008
• Kit Batten. "The Lessons of Bali: The U.S. Needs to Lead on Global Warming". Center for American Progress. December 18, 2007
• Anup Shah. "Climate Justice and Equity". Global Issues. January 01, 2008
• "What equals effective". Down To Earth Magazine. December 15, 2007

Resources for country-specific scenarios

Country: Ethiopia. Threat: Drought

• World Bank: "Ethiopia: Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change Study"
• Tadesse Dadi. "Adapting to drought in Ethiopia." February 22, 2007
• "ETHIOPIA: Poverty hampers climate change adaptation, says PM." Irin News. January 16, 2009

Country: Bangladesh. Threat: Flooding

• World Bank: Bangladesh: Economics of Adaptation to Climate Change Study
• Practical Action, Policy Briefing: "Promoting adaptation to climate change in Bangladesh"
  
• Videos on climate change adaptation in Bangladesh
• Oxfam Quebec: "Climate change adaptation in Bangladesh: Preparing for flood disaster"
• "Livelihood adaptation to climate variability and change." Food and Agriculture Association for the United Nations

Country: Philippines. Threat: Storms (more frequent, more intense)

• Partnerships in Environmental Management for the Seas of East Asia (PEMSEA): Climate Change Adaptation Strategies for Coasts and Oceans
• Climate and development: "Mainstreaming adaptation in developing countries: The case of the Philippines"
• Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia "Knowledge Systems in Climate Change Adaptations Among Farming Communities in the Philippines"

Country: Maldives. Threat: Sea level rise

• US EPA: "Strategies for Adaption to Sea Level Rise"
• UNESCO: "Climate change and sea-level rise"
• "Maldives set to test adapting to higher seas." MSNBC. May 18, 2009

Country: Malawi. Threat: Uncertainty in agriculture, food deficits

• ACCCA analysis of Malawi adaptation scenarios
• Oxfam: "Malawi: Courage in the time of climate change"
• Earthwire News on Malawi and Climate Change