World Resources Report 2010-2011

From World Resources Report 2010-2011 executive summary

I picked out what I thought were the most interesting of their Recommendations:

Governments should convey to the public the scale and range of the risks, including
known uncertainties, and expected impacts of climate change. Many members of the public will not be aware of the risks climate change poses to their livelihoods and safety. Because of this, governments should provide targeted information on the risks facing various sectors, regions, ecosystems and communities. This will help build support for activities undertaken. It will take time for officials and communities to absorb the reality of having to accept some losses, such as the inability to grow certain crop varieties, and even longer to become comfortable entertaining alternatives, such as relocation of certain communities, that will disrupt entrenched patterns of society.

Obama has disappointed many in that he even avoids using the term Climate Change.

Governments and donors should provide targeted and sustained funding delivered through fit-for-purpose mechanisms that respond to the unique challenges of climate change. Because climate change will evolve over decades, long-term financial support from governments and donors will be essential to maintain initiatives and infrastructure and to ensure a return on their investments. Fit-for-purpose mechanisms will be necessary to provide access to longer-term financial support for activities such as the continuous collection of adequate, basic weather and climate data. In addition, countries will need access to secure credit lines that can be tapped quickly for extreme events; they will also need to shift away from “hard” investments to those that build capacity, and support softer investments such as maintaining ecological climate buffers. Current donor trends towards results-based lending may not facilitate such investments. A key challenge for donors and others will be to create incentives for developing countries to integrate climate risks into decision making, so that this integration is seen as an opportunity and not merely another claim on scarce resources. It will also be necessary for donors to strengthen government capacity to implement activities, and create a clear and appropriate exit strategy to ensure government ownership.

Hey guys... don't be looking at the US to help you out. Many of our leaders won't even pay to feed hungry children here on our own soil.

Donors, governments, and the public should take steps to protect and maintain basic ecosystem processes that provide a crucial buffer for adaptation processes. Ecosystems can mitigate many natural hazards.

Well duh. Earth provides our life support system. But I think they're talking about stuff like the loss of the natural Mississippi Delta due to man's interference.