Economic Damage Control: The G20 Meeting.

The meeting of the G20 group of countries will be held this week in London. Already, there are signs that they may not come up with any coherent measure to tackle the global recession. One thing they do not have is the luxury of postponing measures to tackle the climate change.
The measures they should adopt must include facilities for climate change adaptations for the developing countries especially in Africa. If the measures are properly designed with checks and monitoring, economic growth in this region will be boosted and climate adaptation measures implemented. This is killing two birds with one stone. Thus, whatever facility they deemed necessary to be given to the developing countries must be tied to climate adaptation and mitigation.

The climate change issue is not receiving adequate attention in most African countries and the economic crises have virtually forced it out of the radar of most governments. This is a sad situation considering that these countries will be hardest hit and the impact have started appearing in some areas. Increased investments in micro generation and agriculture (with climate change in mind) will enhance the standard of living in many of the countries in Africa. These will address the mitigation and adaptation measures at the same time.

I hope the leaders of the G20 do not miss this great opportunity to address the most pressing problem facing humanity - climate change. The cost of postponement will be higher than the cost of the current bailout of the financial system both in terms of economic and human costs. We are on the verge of making global history by addressing the regulation of world financial system and addressing the climate change