Climate change and coordination of public policies: challenges for local governments in Brazil

Abstract

There is a growing gap between scientific knowledge about the consequences of climate change and concrete adaptation measures adopted by governments to address the problem. This trend is global, but the situation is worse in developing countries, where adaptation to climate change remains at a very low of priority within public policies design and implementation. On the other hand, these public administrations are not prepared to deal with the increasing volume of problems expected as a result of climate change. These problems involve various dimensions of governance: civil defense, health, transport, construction and urban planning, etc. In addition, environmental problems mostly result in costs that will be fully expressed in the future, generating a bias for current governments to postpone adaptation measures. Most of the increased pressure will occur at the local level, because environmental issues are closely linked to local conditions. Floods, landslides, tornadoes and windstorms, droughts, epidemic diseases, and other difficulties arising from climate change generate social demands that are primarily directed to local governments. Public policies are necessary to deal with the complex set of problems expected from climate change, and it is also necessary to establish coordination between policies. In order to contribute to this debate, this article discusses the need for coordination of public policies to deal with problems associated to climate change in the context of Brazilian local (municipal) governments. Resilience to climate disasters is small, and the costs associated with disasters tend to increase over time. In addition, there is an aspect of inequality inherent in the process: vulnerability is inversely proportional to the degree of economic development of the states. Specific public policies are necessary, to be established, in a coordinated way. Environmental resilience policies, such as reordering cities to adapt to climate change, create opportunities for a new pattern of development with social inclusion. Unfortunately, the reality of Brazilian cities is far from this. Public policies aimed at generating resilience face considerable resistance in their implementation, given that they are generally seen as impediments to economic growth. In this way, realpolitik tries to use the common shortcomings of coordination as an excuse to ignore the growing popular demand for improved management of natural resources. Without planning and long term vision, even the minimum demands for action, are not met and opportunities are wasted, while tragedies continue to occur repetitively.