Expert warns of greater climate risk

By JASON GIMA WURI
PAPUA New Guinea is classified as a most vulnerable state that faces a greater risk to its people, environment and economy from the impacts of climate change, an expert says.
“PNG will see a rise in temperature by 4.5 degrees Celcius worst case scenario, rainfall to increase by 20-30% and sea level to rise by 0.5-0.8m,” Office of Climate Change and Development adaptation director Varigini Badira said on Wednesday.
“Recent research has suggested that the El Nino Southern Oscillation events will increase in frequency, and the climate events will become more severe, this means flooding will be worse, droughts periods will be more extreme and temperature will be higher.”
Badira said this in his opening remarks at a three-day workshop supported by the Asian Development Bank on the topic of Building resilience in climate change.
“Climate has been changing for the past thousands and millions of years, through various periods, due to various processes of nature,” he said.
“However, in this period of change in climate human activity is rapidly heating up the globe, thus changing the climate.
“Climate change has now in the history of mankind united all nations, no matter how small or large to speak with one voice and for one cause – to save our planet.
“This is a bleak story, however, this  is not a doomsday situation.
“Climate change only implies that we need to push to live a more sustainable lifestyle as our ancestors did.
“Traditionally, our people have been living a sustainable lifestyle, a very low carbon footprint, living in harmony with our seas, forest, animal and rivers.
“People are now in a state of confusion on the wind patterns for fishing, rainfall patterns for subsistence farming and effects from water-borne and vector-borne diseases.
Badira said “our lessons of the major 1997 EL Nino, people who have had relatives working, have access to cash, have access to road and markets to sell produce were able to mitigate the impacts of disaster”. 
“Food shortage faced by those affected during the times of extreme climate events is a major challenge.
“With 85% of the people of PNG in the rural areas, it is only proper that we address how our people’s lives in the rural areas can be made more resilient to the impacts of climate change.
“Foreign aid to agriculture globally has decreased from 22% of the total 2007 aid to 5.9% of the total aid in 2011. Contribution of agriculture in PNG has decreased from over 40% to 27% of the GDP in the past 20 years.
“If we need a sustainable green economy, which is resilient to climate change, the needs of the 85% of our people must be addressed through this pilot programme.”