In order for the world trade system to cope with the projected impacts of climate change, it has to transform. Climate change’s impacts and the pressing need to prepare ports and coastal transport infrastructure, are now on the spotlight, UNCTAD’s chief of policy and legislation, Regina Asariotis said.
Regina Asariotis mentioned that coastlines will be the most affected by climate change, impacting world trade as the vast majority of trade is taking place through international shipping and ports.
[smlsubform prepend=”GET THE SAFETY4SEA IN YOUR INBOX!” showname=false emailtxt=”” emailholder=”Enter your email address” showsubmit=true submittxt=”Submit” jsthanks=false thankyou=”Thank you for subscribing to our mailing list”]
This is something that all players in the ocean economy must face as it will affect trade and sustainable development of all countries, and especially developing and vulnerable small island nations. As a matter of fact, 60% of goods loaded and 63% of goods are unloaded in developing countries, according to UNCTAD.
Moreover, Ms. Asariotis explained that climate has two natures, which will both impact maritime and the whole transport sector. The first is that maritime transport impacts the environment, with pollution and CO2 emissions. The second is that rising sea levels and extreme weather will affect maritime transport and infrastructure severely. This could happen as early as 2030, when the 1.5 degrees Celsius global warming point is likely to be reached, based on the latest report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
For this reason, port and coastal infrastructure in general must be prepared to face climate change’s impacts, Ms Asariotis added.
Need for action
The potential for damage across global supply chains means that addressing climate change’s impact on key transport infrastructure is of strategic economic importance. As Ms Asariotis noted, there is ‘a disconnect between the evidence from the scientific community and the pace of policy change made by governments.’
The Paris Agreement has set climate change goals, but until now not much has been done with a little over ten years remaining to keep global warming below the 1.5 ºC threshold.
For this reason, sustainable Development Goal 9 calls the global community to build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and sustainable, industrialization and adopt innovation.
Changes in sea-level, temperature, humidity, precipitation and extreme storms, floods and other climatic factors are likely to affect seaports as well as all connecting transport infrastructure and the global network of supply-chains. Understanding the impacts and developing effective adaptation measures is critical
Despite this call however, not much has been done to improve ports’ infrastructure as well. Although most respondent ports had been impacted by weather-related events, the survey showed important gaps in information available to seaports regarding effective climate risk assessment and adaptation planning.
Small island developing states (SIDS)
Currently, the SIDS are at immediate risk, as they have small land mass, economies, and populations and their remote locations make them highly vulnerable.
Additionally, they are exposed to natural disasters, which could get worse with climate change.
Finally, their coastal transport infrastructure are crucial for external trade, food, energy, and tourism, as well as for disaster risk response.
