The increase in average global temperatures has reached 0.7° Celsius, and the impact of this change is already being felt around the world – especially by the poorest. Developed countries have committed to allotting additional resources for developing countries that are facing problems related to adaptation to climate change.
What is the size of the impact on developing countries in terms of adaptation and the loss of development opportunities for which the developed countries should compensate? How to guarantee that these commitments are met? How to approach the impacts to which it is impossible to adapt?
This group will debate how to make the commitments and responsibilities of developing nations truly effective, and seek a consensus regarding the most efficient mechanisms for facing the impacts of climate change.
World People's Conference on Climate Change and the Rights of Mother Earth 
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March 22, 2010 at 12:46 pm
Admin
Dear members of the group on adaptation,
I wanted to make a reflection on the levels of adaptation that are needed in different countries.
In general lines, what we are seeing now is that impacts of climate change are much worse in developing countries then in developed countries. In many cases this is just un unhappy geografical fact.
On the other hand, we can see that the degree of preparation to different extreme events that are happening is very different between developed Countries and developing Countries, and even within the group of developing countries.
Clear examples of this, even though not related to climate change, are the recent earthquakes in Haiti and Chile. While the earthquake of Chile was much stronger then in Haiti, loss of lives and damages were much worse in Haiti.
I take this example to demonstrate that poverty and a low degree of preparation to extreme events cause a multiplication of sufferings.
Well planned investment is the best way to prevent huge damage in case of extreme events.
Investment to prevent damages, or simply access to good infrastructure, is widely available in developed countries, and falls totally short in developing countries. Just for a comparation: the Netherlands are planning to construct a hugh dam to elevate a protection barrier of 6 meters above current sea level. This investment in order to, roughly protect 10 million people.
Now can we prepare this with the case of Bangladesh, where every year millions of people suffer floodings, which will probably get worse with the increase of sea levels.
In this sense, I want to present to this group THE RIGHT OF EVERY PERSON IN THE WORLD TO COUNT WITH THE SAME LEVEL OF PROTECTION AGAINST THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE.
In the view of the historical responsibility for climate change, it is therefore necessary that developed countries finance all possible investment and prevention measures in developing countries, at such levels as they would do in their own countries.
With kind greetings,
Sandra Devillé
Belgium