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Many coasts are eroding. In the Comoros, as in many other small island developing states (SIDS), communities frequently respond to coastal erosion by building seawalls-yet seawalls and other coastal defence structure are controversial, especially in a SIDS context, where they typically are poorly designed and constructed and thus tend to increase rather decrease erosion and are often unable to prevent flooding. Through an exploratory qualitative case study of Grande Comore, the main island of the Comoros (West Indian Ocean), we compare and contrast how local stakeholders, national elites and donors understand coastal erosion and flooding in the context of a changing climate and how they experience and perceive seawalls as a response measure. Our analysis suggests that although stakeholders are aware of different drivers of coastal erosion and flooding, including sand mining, seawalls are a frequent and customary response to coastal erosion and flooding. Little is known about their disadvantages or alternative response measures, especially among local community members. Further, a lack of capacity and resources leads not only to poorly designed and constructed seawalls but also to difficulties in enforcing rules and regulations such as bans on sand mining. From our exploratory study, three conclusions emerge: (1) local drivers of coastal erosion and flooding are more visible than global climate change while funding is more readily available for adaptation to climate change; (2) a mix of context and site-specific measures would be needed to adequately respond to coastal erosion and flooding; and (3) further information and knowledge about the extent and causes of coastal erosion and flooding as well as about the effects of different response measures would be needed to allow such context and site-specific measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wealthy countries spend increasing amounts of aid to support adaptation to climate change in developing countries and have committed under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change to prioritize adaptation aid to those 'particularly vulnerable' to climate change. While research has started to track this aid, it has not yet examined its allocation across all donor and recipient countries. We thus do not know to what extent vulnerable countries indeed receive more support for adaptation. We address this research gap and ask: how does this commitment to prioritizing particularly vulnerable countries translate into actual adaptation aid allocation? To what extent do vulnerable countries receive more adaptation aid? We address these questions though a quantitative analysis of data from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on bilateral adaptation aid from 2011 through 2014. In contrast to other studies, we find that vulnerability-or more precisely, vulnerability indicators-matter for adaptation aid allocation. Countries that are more exposed to climate change risks, such as extreme weather events or sea level rise, receive more adaptation aid, both on a per capita basis and as a percentage of all adaptation aid. These results indicate that collectively (even if not at the level of each individual donor) donors align their bilateral adaptation aid allocation with global promises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which the editor discusses various reports published within the issue which include the dynamics of climate finance system, the emergence of climate finance in international negotiations, and the systemic perspective on climate change.

Small island developing states (SIDS) are among the first and worst affected by climate change. SIDS are thus also among the first to adapt, and as 'early adaptors' can provide key lessons for adaptation efforts elsewhere. This article reviews the growing literature on climate change, adaptation and small island states. It first discusses migration - which increasingly is seen as part of adaptation rather than a failure to adapt. Mobility has long been part of island life, and remittances can for example fund adaptation measures back home. Yet, adaptation in situ is not as forthcoming as would be necessary. The article identifies different barriers to effective adaptation, and discusses them under three distinct but interrelated categories: perceptions and awareness, institutions, and (lack of) resources. For effective, sustainable and successful adaptation, we need to overcome these barriers, and in particular provide information and resources to the local level. With appropriate information and resources, island communities can take and implement informed decisions and successfully adapt to a changing climate - as they have adjusted to social and environmental changes in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there is a substantial amount of research that studies how environmental interest groups/non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) influence international environmental negotiations, both the theoretical work and the empirical evidence were not yet able to answer comprehensively if this makes it more likely that states, in turn, commit to stronger environmental agreements. This article seeks to contribute to clarifying this. First, the authors argue that a higher degree of ENGO access to official negotiations and a larger number of ENGOs actively participating during bargaining processes can facilitate outcomes of environmental negotiations. The authors then analyze quantitative data on international environmental regimes and their members' commitment levels from 1946 to 1998 and obtain robust support for their claims. However, the rationale on the introduced explanatory factors also implies that the impact of ENGO access on states' commitment levels should vary conditional on the number of ENGOs actively participating. The paper finds evidence for such an interaction, although the results go against our expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]