There are many things we can do to adapt to how we are affecting the environment. It means doing some things differently.
Some examples: in Bangladesh villagers are planting crops on floating gardens so they’re safe in floods; farmers in Thailand are learning to forecast increasingly erratic weather; in Tanzania farming families are switching to drought tolerant seeds and in Bangladesh, school buildings are being built on raised banks to provide shelter during floods and protect buildings.
Perhaps there are some lessons there for various parts of the UK to consider.
The UK has committed to spending money to assist in these types of adaptations in poorer countries. The UK Climate Change Secretary, Chris Huhne, needs to find ways to pay for it.
Oxfam has come up with a couple of ways that don’t put any pressure on existing services within the UK.
- Bring in a Robin Hood Tax. A tiny tax on banks could free up $400 billion a year globally for adapting to climate change.
- An international tax on shipping and aviation emissions aimed at reducing emissions and raising up to $30 billion a year.
You can get involved in Oxfam’s campaign here and read a lot more about some of these smart solutions here.
