Download Adaptation to climate [change] impacts

Vulnerability Assessments and Adaptation to
Climate Change
Consultations on the Relationship between Climate and
human rights
Geneva
22 October 2008
Festus Luboyera
UNFCCC Secretariat
Outline
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The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Key commitments under the UNFCCC
Urgent need for Adaptation
Approaches to vulnerability and adaptation assessments
Efforts to enhance work on vulnerability and adaptation
issues
National Adaptation Programmes of Actions (NAPAS
Nairobi Work Programme
Adaptation under the Bali Action Plan
Financial resources
Concluding Remarks
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The UN Framework Convention on
Climate Change
• 192 Parties – near universal membership
• The ultimate objective of the Convention: change is
inevitable, but pace and intensity must be managed so that
people and ecosystems can adapt.
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Principle of common but differentiated responsibilities
and respective capabilities: developed countries must
take the lead
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Key commitments under the UNFCCC
• All Parties shall “Cooperate in preparing for adaptation to
the impacts of climate change; develop and elaborate
appropriate and integrated plans for coastal zone
management, water resources and agriculture, and for
the protection and rehabilitation of areas, particularly in
Africa, affected by drought and desertification, as well as
floods.”
– Article 4.1 (e)
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Key commitments under the UNFCCC
All Parties shall “Take climate change considerations into
account, to the extent feasible, in their relevant social,
economic and environmental policies and actions, and
employ appropriate methods, for example impact
assessments, formulated and determined nationally, with
a view to minimizing adverse effects on the economy, on
public health and on the quality of the environment, of
projects or measures undertaken by them to mitigate or adapt
to climate change.”
– Article 4.1 (f)
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Key commitments under the UNFCCC
“The developed country Parties … shall also assist the
developing country Parties that are particularly vulnerable to
the adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs of
adaptation to those adverse effects.”
- Article 4.4
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Key commitments under the UNFCCC
“The Parties shall take full account of the specific needs
and special situations of the least developed countries in
their actions with regard to funding and transfer of
technology.”
– Article 4.9
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Urgent need for Adaptation
Adaptation: coping with climatic change – taking
measures to reduce the negative effects, or
exploit the positive ones, by making appropriate
adjustments.
• Adaptation is inevitable
• Developing countries will be most affected.
• Strong adaptation policies and support need to
be in place very soon
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TWO APPROACHES TO VULNERABILITY AND
ADAPTATION ASSESSMENTS
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Efforts to enhance work on vulnerability
and adaptation issues
• Support for Impact, Vulnerability and Adaptation
assessment, as part of National Communications
• Further implementation of actions including on data and
modelling, vulnerability and adaptation assessment and
implementation under the Buenos Aires Programme of
work on adaptation (2004)
• Addressing special needs of LDCs through the NAPAs
• Science and technical advice on adaptation: Nairobi Work
Programme (adopted at COP 12 in Nairobi in 2006)
• Enhanced Action on adaptation under the Bali action Plan
(2007)
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National Adaptation Programmes of Actions
(NAPAS)
• Rationale for NAPA rests on low adaptive capacity of
LDCs
• Serves as mechanism for assessment and communication
of urgent and immediate adaptation needs in LDCs
• Steps include information synthesis, assessment of
vulnerability to climate variability and extreme events and
potential risk areas, identification of key adaptation
measures, selection of prioritized set of activities.
• 32 NAPAs submitted thus far (out of 48 LDC Parties)
• Rough estimate of total cost of NAPA implementation in
all 48 Parties - around US$1 billion
• USD 163 million pledged as of COP 13
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Adaptation under the Bali Action Plan
Discussions in Accra (August 2008)
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National planning and adaptation
• Streamlining and scaling up financial and technical support
• Enhancing knowledge sharing
• Institutional frameworks
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Financial resources
• Improving means and accessibility to the adaptation
financing –improved livelihoods
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Need to generate significant financial and technological
support to enable meaningful action by developing
countries.
• The GEF funding is not enough
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Current carbon market is insufficient and doesn’t
guarantee geographical distribution
• UNFCCC report (2007)indicates that Investment and
financial flows needed for adaptation globally are likely to
be tens of billions of dollars per year several decades
from now
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How could the carbon market structure be expanded?
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Can other mechanisms be developed?
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Concluding Remarks
• The convention process has provided for;
– the assessments of vulnerability and adapation
options for sectors and countries that are most
vulnerable to the impacts of climate change
– possible funding abeit not adequate at the moment
– development of national policy options for adaptation
• The Convention works to ensure food and health security
as well sustainable development
• Copenhagen 2009 needs to ensure that all stakeholders
participate in the development of adaptation policies
and green economic growth
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Thank You
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