This short doc describes the output of a meeting of global experts in London, 25 March 2014, and proposes specific language for a disasters target and associated indicators. The meeting was organised by Oxfam, Christian Aid and King's College London.

1111_4178_Disaster Targets and Indicators for the SDGs - proposals.pdf

In May 2013 carbon concentration reached 400 parts per million (ppm) at observatory in Hawaii. Global carbon concentration is supposed to reach 400 ppm soon. It was 315 ppm in 1958, 375 ppm in 2000 (UNEP, 2012). While it increased by 60 ppm in 42 years till 2000, in the last decade it rose by 25 ppm. The reasons are easy to understand. The global emission was 40 gigatonnes(GT) of carbon dioxide (CO2) e in 2000, which rose to 50 GT of CO2 in 2011, rising by 25 percent in ten years! The current emission levels need to be brought down to 44 GT of CO2 by 2020, to contain a rise in temperature below 2 degrees.

Against this rapid increase in climate change, global efforts have been lackluster. In the business as usual scenario, the total emissions in 2020 will be 58 GT. Based on the pledges that have been made by the countries in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) , and the Kyoto Protocol in the best case scenario the emissions in 2020 will be 52 GT, in the worst case scenario (low ambition levels) it will be 57 GT. This is only 1 GT less than business as usual (BAU) scenario and far above the threshold limit of 44 GT. Obviously, this is not enough to keep the rise in temperature below 2 degrees Celsius. This calls for wartime efforts to reduce the emissions.

1111_1497_OWG submission on CC & DRR.pdf

The social context faced by many persons with disabilities living in poverty in low- and middle-income countries means that many environmental hazards quickly become disasters for persons with disabilities. Furthermore, due to the nature of impairment, age, gender, geographical location, socio-economic and cultural background, many persons with disabilities experience significant levels of discrimination and disproportionately affected by hazards and particularly at risk to the adverse effects of climate change in a number of ways.

1111_4018_IDA-IDDC statement on disability and disasters.pdf

Disaster and resilience as well as the impact of climate change on sustainable development were insufficiently included in the Millennium Declaration and absent from the MDGs despite the important impact they have on development and wellbeing of people. During the last decade, an increasing number of studies have drawn attention to the fact that climate change and competition for natural resources are increasing the risk of natural disasters as well as conflicts. While the economic losses of disasters amount to up to one trillion dollars, the funds invested in disaster risk reduction and conflict prevention are estimated at merely 5% of the global funding for emergency response and recovery. During the post-2015 consultation process, an increased emphasis on climate change and disaster risk reduction (DRR) has become evident and it is crucial that these issues are addressed in the post-2015 sustainable development goals and framework.

For further information contact:
Valerie Scherrer, Director of CBM Emergency Response Unit
www.cbm.org
valerie.scherrer@cbm.org

1111_4018_CBM Thematic brief DRR and climate change_Post-2015 SDG.pdf

This briefing highlights key recommendations on disaster risk reduction and climate change aimed at realizing Save the Children's vision of societies that are resilient to the impacts of disasters and protected from climate change and its impacts by 2030. In Save the Children's Ending Poverty In Our Generation report, a ten-goal framework is proposed which includes goals and targets to:

• improve national disaster and risk management planning and risk reduction initiatives, focusing on building the resilience of vulnerable populations including children to sudden and slow-onset disasters;
• reduce economic and human losses from disasters;
• rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions and reduce vulnerability to climate change; and
• improve child protection at all times including during times of disaster and conflict.

1111_3319_Save_the_Children_Briefing_OWG_7.pdf

This is a joint agency briefing (Oxfam, ACT Alliance, Global Network for Disaster Reduction, CARE, Huairou Commission and World Vision) that calls for a strong commitment in the post-2015 development framework to reducing the impact of disasters, otherwise development efforts for the poorest will be unsustainable. The short paper proposes core criteria for a target on disaster risk reduction.

1111_4178_ib-disasters-disrupt-development-post2015-111213-en.pdf

Considering Disaster Risk Reduction through a water security lens and contemplating what would happen if the global freshwater cycle, which is already compromised, reaches a tipping point and no longer functions effectively.

1111_1957_Disaster Risk Reduction and the Freshwater Cycle.pdf

In this position paper, German Development and Disabled People's Organizations stress the need to mainstream disability in disaster risk reduction.

1111_1782_Inclusive DRR.doc

Prepared by IRDR and ICSU:
Scientific research and practitioner experience have revealed that disasters, development and poverty are intimately linked. Destruction of assets and livelihoods in disasters set back hard-won development gains and worsen poverty, often for extended periods of years2. Progress in ending extreme poverty may be reversed in the face of a disaster event and poverty re-entrenched. Disaster impacts are growing, amplified by rapid growth and unsustainable development practices that increase the exposure and vulnerabilities of communities and capital assets. Governments increasingly recognise that the reduction of disaster risks is a foundation for successful sustainable development, and that disaster risk is a crosscutting issue requiring action across multiple sectors.

1111_357_IRDR-ICSU_OWG7_Disaster_Risk_Reduction.pdf