Climate change in a developing country : problematisation, actors and practices

Abstract

In recent decades a global discourse of climate change has constituted a threat to livelihoods and development. In response, an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established, through which knowledge has been disseminated and mechanisms have been promoted to both mitigate and adapt to the expected changes. This research explores climate change narratives and takes a critical look at the manner in which the concept of climate change and the mechanisms arising from the UNFCCC have been integrated into development in Laos. As a least developed country, Laos is seen as vulnerable to climate change. Extreme weather events have increased in frequency and have caused devastation, loss of life and economic damage. For the largely rural population who are dependent on an agricultural livelihood, unpredictability in weather patterns is a cause for concern and has led to an increase in food insecurity. Laos has numerous development needs, goals which focus on industrialisation and modernisation, and limited capacity to implement measures for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Through an examination of climate change and development documents, and interviews of members of the development community in Laos, the research seeks to understand how climate change is problematised and how climate change issues are governed by a range of actors in a context of development. The research finds that through neoliberal practices and dominant discourses such as ecological modernisation, UNFCCC mechanisms have created financial opportunities in greenhouse gas reductions. Many actors have responded to these opportunities. Contrasting discourses challenge current economic and social structures in order to mitigate and adapt to climate change. These discourses are often linked to ‘local’ knowledge and are marginalised in order to maintain ‘business as usual’.