{"id":24031,"date":"2024-05-08T13:03:14","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T18:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/?p=24031"},"modified":"2024-05-08T13:03:14","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T18:03:14","slug":"financing-solutions-for-slow-onset-climate-challenges-drawing-on-natures-untapped-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2024\/05\/08\/financing-solutions-for-slow-onset-climate-challenges-drawing-on-natures-untapped-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"Financing Solutions for Slow Onset Climate Challenges: Drawing on Nature\u2019s Untapped Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Protecting and restoring mangrove forests are cost-effective nature-based solutions to buffer coastlines from the impacts of climate change. Photo: Environmental Defense Fund<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

By <\/span><\/span>Juan Pablo Hoffmaister<\/span><\/span><\/a>, Associate Vice President, Global Climate Cooperation and Zach Cohen, <\/span>Senior Analyst, Global Climate Cooperation<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Climate change isn’t just about sudden disasters. Creeping issues like biodiversity loss, rising sea levels, and desertification are slowly reshaping our world, often relegated to the background in the face of more immediate climate emergencies.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

These long-term challenges are known as <\/span>slow onset events (SOEs)<\/span><\/b>. They place new pressures on <\/span>communities to <\/span>adapt <\/span><\/b>through measures such as disaster preparedness, while also leading to <\/span>losses and damages (L&D) <\/span><\/b>\u2013<\/span> the impacts of climate change which occur despite mitigation and adaptation efforts<\/span>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While the international community has made important progress to address the impacts of SOEs \u2013 including <\/span>launching a new Loss and Damage fund<\/span><\/b> to assist vulnerable countries in preparing for and responding to SOEs \u2013 the reality is that financing for slow onset events remains severely lacking. Many countries are struggling to secure the resources needed to address these monumental environmental dilemmas.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to prioritize tomorrow\u2019s issues today, we must rapidly scale up finance to tackle SOEs. The L&D fund will play a key role on this front \u2013 it recently held its first board meeting, and as it gears up to provide financing to those in need, it must do so in <\/span>a way that optimizes <\/span><\/b>public resources <\/span><\/b>to <\/span><\/b>maximize <\/span><\/b>impact<\/span><\/b> and leverage<\/span><\/b>s<\/span><\/b> the solutions already provided by nature.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Why SOEs should be on our radar\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

While both slow onset events and rapid onset events are increasing due to climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates <\/span>more people will be affected by slow onset processes than extreme weather events in the long-term<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Whether it\u2019s loss of livelihoods and income, damage to ecosystems and property, or even population displacement, the interconnected nature of SOEs means we\u2019re all impacted. Here are some examples of SOEs and how they threaten to push Earth\u2019s ecosystems to a breaking point:\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n