Our current MSc student Prachi Chitre raises a vital issue in climate communication. It seems states already suffering often severe damage from climate-related causes are telling their story, but what will it take for big, richer states to listen to that story? Read her essay here:

Climate Politics: How Vulnerable States Communicate On Climate Finance

In recent years, countries that have been severely affected by climate change have raised concerns with international organisations that they need financial assistance in tackling the impacts of climate change. The question of climate finance, climate litigation, and climate communication remains a much-contested topic. Are vulnerable nations communicating their climate needs appropriately and what are the results of this communication? This article argues that such states are indeed effectively communicating their climate needs, however it has not been able to acquire its desired effect, i.e., aid assistance. To back up this claim, three examples of vulnerable nations have been taken into account: Vanuatu, Madagascar, and the Philippines.

Climate finance refers to financing drawn from national and international organisations in order to support the impacts of climate change (UNFCC report, 2023). The UN recognizes ‘common, but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities,’ (UNFCC report, 2023: 2) and states that first world nations should be providing climate finance to developing countries, for two reasons: firstly, the actions of developed nations have contributed more to greenhouse emissions, and the impacts of this are felt most keenly by developing countries. Secondly, most developing nations do not have the capacity or resources to tackle with the impacts of climate change. In 2022, the EU attempted to re-define the term vulnerable when it stated that climate finance should be going only to those nations who are ‘particularly vulnerable’ (Lo, 2022). This was a major point of discussion at the COP27 and COP28 climate talks especially as there was a transitional committee set up to oversee the funding arrangement and was responsible for deciding which states are ‘particularly vulnerable.’

Vulnerability has three dimensions: Is the country affected by extreme and frequent natural disasters? Is human capital at risk? Does the country have the resources to mitigate the impact of these events? (Lo, 2022). In the UN Climate talks, ‘particularly vulnerable’ has come to refer to small island developing states (SIDs) and least developed countries (LDCs) (Lo, 2022). In March 2022, the IPCC attempted to map vulnerability based on income, GDP and indicators such as healthcare, poverty, education and governance. However, the index used was restrictive and several governments do not accept this risk assessment (Lo, 2022). As per the International Rescue Committee, the following three countries: Vanuatu (Pacific Islands), Madagascar, and Philippines are some of the nations who fall under the list of ‘particularly vulnerable’ (Tadesse 2023). These have been used as case studies for this paper.

Vanuatu

One of the most recent and popular examples is the Pacific island state of Vanuatu which is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events, the incidences of which have increased in recent years. The UN has ranked Vanuatu as the country most prone to natural disasters. In 2023 alone, it had two category four cyclones (Birnbaum, 2023). Law students from Vanuatu set out to change international jurisdiction by approaching the world’s highest court -- the International Court of Justice -- to issue an advisory opinion and to enforce states to provide clearer guidelines. They sent a legal brief to the leaders of all countries in the Pacific Islands forum and set up an NGO called the ‘Pacific Islands Students fighting Climate Change’ (Lyons, 2022). The brief outlined its purpose was not litigation, but instead to provide clarity on guidelines for countries to tackle climate change (Lyons, 2022). It also consisted of statistical studies, and interviews from local citizens in order to demonstrate the effects of climate change. Studies were carried out over twelve to eighteen months, while interviews with citizens of varying age took a couple of weeks. The data was then sent to climate reporting agencies, (both private and governmental) such as Climate Analytics and UNDO Carbon in the US to analyse the data. All these findings were then compiled by the law students in the NGO, drafting it as a legal brief before being sent to leaders of government (Lyons, 2022).

Although the ICJ’s opinion is not legally binding, it can still lead to useful outcomes such as international sanctions, countries losing voting rights, and communities being brought before international tribunals. In short, it can be used to pressure courtrooms and governments to facilitate new pathways for future litigation. Vanuatu’s victory is unique; previous island nations like Palau and the Marshall Islands failed to garner support in the UN for the very same cause, whereas Vanuatu succeeded this year in not just gaining complete support from the UN, but also in successfully getting the ICJ to issue an advisory opinion, asking states to clarify their legal obligations with regards to climate change. In this aspect, it has already set a unique and powerful precedent (Lyons, 2022).

Vanuatu also represents the power of youth-led movements which can spur positive action in terms of climate change (Happel 2023). Having the ICJ issue such an opinion enforces states to recognize that their actions have transborder implications. This demonstrates to the world that future generations are well-informed citizens of the world who are passionate about ensuring their right to a clean environment. Thus, Vanuatu serves as a recent example of a vulnerable nation successfully communicating its climate needs.

Madagascar

Madagascar is also a nation that is consistently ravaged by extreme weather events as a result of the destabilizing effects of climate change. On February 21, 2023 Cyclone Freddy struck the coast of Madagascar and in 2022, Cyclones Batsirai and Emnaty ravaged the country. On the southern side, The Grand Sud is affected by severe droughts and sandstorms. Its geographical location makes it prone to hazardous weather due to changing climatic conditions (Doctors of the World International Network Report, 2023).

Every year, the Global Climate Legislation Study compiles together Climate Change Legislation in ninety-nine countries. The report addresses Madagascar’s own legislative processes including the steps it has taken to implement the National Climate Change Policy (NCC) since 2010 (Grantham Institute LSE Report, 2015). Its disaster management strategies indicate that it requires a heavy inflow of capital as the country’s agriculture and cottage industries are constantly affected by extreme weather events. The report carries a thorough and in-depth analysis of the country’s climate infrastructure. This includes data from several sectors including transport, agriculture, tourism, education, information processing, coastal fisheries, and tourism. The studies were carried out over five years in order to periodically monitor the effects of climate change. The data was collated and analysed in partnership with the UNDP and these reports were sent to the IMF (LSE Report, 2015).

It is also the second country where a pilot study for diagnostic climate assessment was carried out by the IMF. In November 2022, the IMF put together a report on technical assistance as part of the Climate Macroeconomic Assessment Program which was written in response to the country’s report for technical assistance. The IMF’s report outlines guidance under categories such as mitigation plans, disaster risk management, adaptation plans, macro-fiscal planning, and infrastructure investments. (IMF Climate Macro assessment Program, 2022).

For a decade Madagascar has been annually compiling technical assistance reports and sending it to the IMF and UNDP. It has a set of policies for climate change which are connected to the NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution), however this has not translated into sectoral strategies. Based on the IMF’s report, it continues to carry out a thorough analysis into the country’s ever-evolving landscape and provides guidelines on streamlining climate mitigation strategies. This serves as another successful example of a vulnerable nation communicating its climate assistance needs.

Philippines

Philippines, an island country in the Western Pacific region has also been classified as ‘particularly vulnerable’ (UN report, 2022). Located in the Tropical Cyclone Belt and the Pacific Ring of Fire, it is highly prone to geological hazards (NDC report to the UNFCCC, 2021). Typhoons Sendong in 2011 and Pablo in 2012 were classified as the world’s deadliest storms. Following these disasters, the government set up the Climate Change Commission (CCC) which oversees policy formulation on climate adaptation and mitigation strategies. (Sering, 2013).

In 2021, the country sent its report on Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC. (NDC Report to the UNFCCC, 2021). In response to the ongoing need for aid, the country also sent out its Second National Communication to the UNFCCC in 2022. It provided an overview of the national circumstances in the past five years which included government structure and the economy. The communique also outlined the country’s policies for agriculture, food security, energy, and the transfer of technologies from non-sustainable to sustainable means. Along with policy information, the report also included data from natural disasters, the causes and impacts of the typhoons and the country’s infrastructure to tackle the same. Interviews with local citizens’ whose lives had been negatively affected by frequent and extreme weather events were also included. The raw data was collated over 2021-2022 in accordance with the NCC’s report to the UNFCCC. The report was sent to the UNFCCC and the World Bank which included a detailed plan on conducting research, and installing capacity building and public awareness programs for local communities. (Second National Communication to the UNFCCC, 2022). Thus, Philippines serves as another successful example of an extremely vulnerable nation communicating its climate needs.

In conclusion, considering the examples of Vanuatu, Madagascar and Philippines, one can establish the fact that at-risk countries are effectively communicating their climate needs. Effective communication in this case is defined as documenting and transmitting vital information about climate assistance backed up with relevant evidence, along with conveying the intentions behind the communication (IPCC Handbook, 2018). There are several other nations as well such as Haiti, Syria, Lebanon, and Somalia who face the ravages of climate change and have been asking for assistance from the World Bank, the IMF and the UN. However, in the three case studies mentioned above, the result is that there has been little or inconsistent flow of financial aid.

This does lead to a further question: if the communication has been effective, why is it not able to achieve its desired result? The reasons are many. These reports are often low on the hierarchy of priorities such as national security or terrorism. There is also reticence from first world countries to pay reparations. Most importantly, there is a lack of legally binding obligations on states to deliver aid. This provides scope for further research. It also raises questions about how climate protest is visually represented across the globe, who communicates climate stories and whether there is scientific literacy amongst the masses. Ultimately, the question of climate communication depends on strategic environmental narratives in politics which are often misconstrued or overlooked altogether.

References

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