UNESCO

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UNESCOs roleand opportunities in addressing
climate change
Task Force on Global Climate Change

• Patricio Bernal
• Assistant Director-General, UNESCO Executive
  Secretary, Intergovernmental Oceanographic
  Commission of UNESCO

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Climate Change and UNESCOBackground Information

• The science is clear the warming of the earths
  climate is unequivocal and attributable to human
  activities.
• Severe impacts of climate change are already
  being felt, leading to human suffering in
  particular in developing countries, and demand an
  urgent response.
• Economic assessments indicate that the cost of
  inaction will exceed the cost of taking early
  action, probably by several orders of magnitude.

Source UN Secretary-Generals Policy Committee
Meeting on Climate Change
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The evidence observed changes
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The evidence observed changes
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The evidence observed changes
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Creating the Knowledge Basefrom climate research
and observations
Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, as
is now evident from observations of increases in
global average air and ocean temperatures,
widespread melting of snow and ice, and rising
global average sea level - IPCC 2007
Observationsshow that the average temperature
of the global ocean has increased to depths of at
least 3000 m and that the ocean has been
absorbing more than 80 of the heat added to the
climate system. Such warming causes seawater to
expand, contributing to sea level rise - IPCC
2007
IPCC 2007
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Forecasted changes in the XXI Century
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Expected Impacts on society
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Large impacts on the coast
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Impacts will affect first the most vulnerable
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Also Impacts on the natural support base
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Mitigation and adaptationWorld Heritage

• Climate change impacts on natural and cultural
  World Heritage
• raising awareness, sharing of knowledge and
  experience
• pilot projects
• Strategy to Assist States Parties to Implement
  Appropriate Management Responses (2006)
• Case studies (2007)

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The application of educational toolsDecade of
Education for Sustainable Development

• Providing information on climate issues to
  educators, teachers, students
• called for by Article 6 of the UNFCCC
• potential contribution to 5-year UNFCCC Nairobi
  Work Plan on impacts, vulnerability, and
  adaptation to climate change
• curriculum testing and development through ASPnet
• Climate change is a key theme in the Decade of
  Education for Sustainable Development, where
  UNESCO is the lead agency

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Public Informationaccess to sound and unbiased
information through the media

• Informed action by individuals fundamental to
  addressing climate change
• Ensuring access to sound and unbiased information
  through the media
• training journalists to cover climate change
• working with national and community broadcasters

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ADAPTATION TO CLIMATE CHANGE