Download Leveraging National Communications to integrate climate policy into

Leveraging National Communications
to integrate Climate Change
into Development policy
Sub-Regional Workshop for GEF Focal Points in Asia
Bangkok, Thailand
7-8 April 2009
OUTLINE
 Key climate change threats in the region
 Role of National Communications (NC)
 How to use the potential of NC projects to
integrate climate change into development and
sector policies
Climate Change impacts
Rising
Temperatures
6º
Changes in:
- Rainfall
- Soil evaporation
- Physical geography, landscapes
- Sea level
- Extreme weather
- Ecosystem distribution/composition
1.5º
Climate Change impacts (cont.)
Changes in forest
composition,
extent, health &
productivity
PUBLIC
HEALTH
Variability in water supply, quality
and distribution. More competition
and cross-border conflicts over
water resources
AGRICULTURE FORESTRY
Increasing incidents of
infectious, water-borne and
vector-borne diseases, heat
stress & mortality, additional
public health costs
WATER
RESOURCES
Erosion,
inundation,
salinisation, stress
on mangroves,
marshes, wetlands
COASTAL
SYSTEMS
Less predictability in crop
yield, changing irrigation
demand, growing risk of pest
infestations
ECOSYSTEM
SERVICES
Loss of habitat,
species and
protective
ecosystems,
migratory shifts
Key vulnerabilities
Key vulnerabilities (cont.)
Increasing forest production
and risk of forest fires
Continued retreat of Lena
delta (3.6-4.5 m per year)
due to thermo-erosion
Declining productivity of grasslands, declining milk yields and
increasing risk of animal diseases
Decreasing
cereal yields
(-30%) due to
water stress
Declining water
availability per
capita
6-10% more irrigation
water needed for each 1ºC
of warming
Double CO2: 40% decrease
in rice yiels in irrigated
lowland areas
SLR in major Deltas by 2050:
Huanghe: 70-90cm, Changjiang: 5070cm, Zhujiang: 40-60cm
Increased abundance
& toxicity of cholera
Small glaciers disappear
around 2030-2050
Increase in diarrhoeal
diseases in times of
flooding & drought
1m SLR: 2500 km2 of mangroves lost,
1000km2 of cultivated land turned into salt
marshes, >20,000 km2 of Mekong delta
flooded.
30% of Asia’s coral
reefs lost in next 30
years
What does this have to do with
National Communications?
The Initial National Communication (INC) process
was important because:
 The INC was the first effort to summarize
information about a country’s contribution to global
warming, and its key vulnerabilities
 The INC has generated awareness about Climate
Change issues
 The INC was the first point of reference for many
development partners to support CC mitigation
and adaptation in a country
BUT:
 The focus was seen on ‘International Convention
reporting’ – Opportunities to channel information
into non-environmental policy processes were lost
 The INC was conducted by technical experts, with
limited participation of other stakeholders from
public and private sectors
 Investigations and language was academic in
nature and not very accessible
Second National Communications (SNC):
A second opportunity!
 Climate Change is more than environmental
reporting – the SNC process is relevant for all
policy segments
 The SNC is a strategic policy support tool to
highlight and communicate Climate Change
priorities
 Producing an SNC document not the end point.
SNC information can be used to map socioeconomic vulnerabilities, understand economic
impacts of CC and frame follow-up measures
SNC should be a vehicle
to inform and facilitate:
 Institutional positions and responses to
climate change issues
 Continued analysis and review of climate data
to stay up-to-date on vulnerability dynamics
 Inter-ministerial dialogue to address primary
climate change concerns in national priorities
 Integration of climate risk reduction
into sectoral and development planning
How can countries make full use of
SNC potential?
1) Ensure that the studies commissioned by the SNC
team address relevant policy questions
2) Ensure that the SNC does not work in isolation in
the Environment Department. Establish a platform
to share SNC information with other departments.
3) Make sure the mitigation and adaptation studies of
the SNC deliver information that is suitable for the
definition of follow-up measures (e.g. further
assessments, project formulation, fundraising)
How can countries make full use of
SNC potential? (cont.)
4) Make sure the SNC highlights critical short-term
and long-term policy challenges and proposes
some options for priority sectors
5) Make sure the SNC process picks up existing
capacity gaps and opportunities in the country to
understand, analyze and address Climate Change
issues
6) Make sure SNC work is complemented with
targeted awareness and communication actions
for public/private/policy stakeholders
Next steps
 Understanding and revisiting the scope of SNC
work
 Actively encouraging involvment and supporting
input by relevant government institutions
 Helping to make the SNC better visible
 Having a concrete follow-up for the SNC in mind
 Ensuring that all mitigation and adaptation
assessments in the SNC maintaining a human
focus
Leveraging National Communications - Summary
1. National Communications:
process and outputs
Informed allocation of public /
private financing to resilient and
low-carbon economic growth
CC Adaptation and mitigation
priorities identified
2. CC Adaptation and Mitigation
platforms, plans and strategies
Priority CC projects identified
3. Adaptation financing and carbon
financing options explored to
undertake priority measures
Priority CC projects financed
Project lessons utilized in
national / sector plans
Institutional partnerships
developed & strengthened
Project lessons captured
and analyzed (M&E)
Discussion
 Which tangible steps can GEF focal
points take to make SNC more relevant
to policy making?
 What role can GEF Focal Points play in
linking priorities that emerge from
National Communications with other
GEF programming?