Climate Change: A Race We Must Win

The briefing discusses the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, highlighting the need to accelerate action due to IPCC warnings and youth-led climate strikes. It notes that while mitigation has seen progress with 183 parties submitting NDCs, adaptation remains severely under-implemented, particularly in developing countries. The author advocates for the integration of Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) into global strategies, noting its dual benefit for resilience and carbon sequestration, especially in Africa.

• The 2019 UN Climate Action Summit aims to create scalable and replicable plans to strengthen Paris Agreement commitments before COP25, driven by IPCC reports and youth climate activism such as 'Fridays for Future' and 'Extinction Rebellion'.
• Global climate mitigation has progressed, with 183 parties submitting Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), 177 of which include a vision for low-emission development. Among developed countries, 43 have reported positive progress, and seven have already reached emissions levels lower than their 2020 targets.
• Climate change adaptation is lagging behind mitigation; a January assessment by the UN Framework Convention on Climate found that no country that submitted National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) had actually implemented the stipulated policies or projects.
• Ecosystem-based Adaptation (EbA) is recommended as a solution that provides simultaneous benefits for adaptation, mitigation (via carbon sinks like mangrove restoration), and socio-economic upliftment, though it is currently largely absent from response measures in Africa.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2019). Climate Change: A Race We Must Win. https://saiia.org.za/research/climate-change-a-race-we-must-win/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. Climate Change: A Race We Must Win. 2019. https://saiia.org.za/research/climate-change-a-race-we-must-win/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=Climate Change: A Race We Must Win |date=19 September 2019 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/climate-change-a-race-we-must-win/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2019climate, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{Climate Change: A Race We Must Win}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/climate-change-a-race-we-must-win/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }