I thought I would share this, maybe helpful to some of you. What I need to spend more is how adaptation and mitigation can be clearly defined. It is absolutely right that IPCC says “Both impacts and emissions, for example, are linked in complex ways to underlying socio-economic and technological development paths.” But I think it is for that reason that adaptation is not necessarily limited to reducing the impacts of climate stresses on humans and natural system, while mitigation is about reducing green house gas emissions.
I found it somewhat troubling after learning about Indonesian government’s focus on the forestry sector for its 2020 goal of 26% carbon emissions reduction. An article from Reuters indicates that Indonesia is the world’s No. 3 greenhouse gas emitter due to deforestation, peatland degradation and forest fires [article]. The pledge for cutting 26% carbon emissions by Indonesian government is then welcomed by international [article], although some say that it is pretty ambitious. The interesting part is what President SBY said:
“This target is entirely achievable because most of our emissions come from forest-related issues, such as forest fires and deforestation,”
During my propososal writing, I found this clearinghouse website that explains how transportation has a strong connection with climate change. I know it is a little too late for me finding out the existence of this website considering that I am studying this area. But it is certainly not too late for my proposal and my research.
