A new report is released by the International Commission on Climate Change and Development (CCCD), Closing the Gaps: Disaster Risk Reduction and Adaptation to Climate Change in Developing Countries, supporting a call for more adaptation money to be made available over and above development aid and urging wealth countries to rapidly mobilize US $ 1 - 2 million to assist countries most vulnerable to climate change, especially in Africa. The CCCD was set up in 2008 by the Swedish government and is chaired by Gunilla Carlsson, Sweden's Minister for international development cooperation.
Source: http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84455
28 - 29 May: OECD hosted a high level meeting on environment and development, where 2 documents were endorsed, the Policy Statement and the Policy Guidance on Integrating Adaptation to Climate Change into Development Co-operation. Deepen the work by the OECD on adaptation was highlighted as a priority, including integrating adaptation within existing aid modalities and environmental assessment processes, evaluating progress on adaptation, tracking aid for adaptation, incentivising private sector engagement, and examining the costs and other economic aspects of adaptation. Examining the synergies between mitigation and adaptation in the context of development objectives was also prioritized.
Source: http://www.oecd.org/document/46/0,3343,en_21571361_36099755_42890862_1_1_1_1,00.html
29 May: African Ministers of the Environment adopted the Nairobi Declaration on climate change highlighting the opportunities and challenges in the climate regime negotiations and committing to mainstream adaptation measures into national and regional development plans and policies.
Source: http://www.unep.org/Documents.Multilingual/Default.asp?DocumentID=585&ArticleID=6192&l=en
After numerous amendments by various congressional committees, the US Climate Change legislation (the Waxman-Markey bill) is now set to go to vote by the House of Representatives. The details of the mitigation elements have been hotly debated but there is some concern that the adaptation policy matters remain poorly developed. The bill focuses on natural resources adaptation, which has raised concerns that this is too limited and doesn't adequately cover issues pertaining to the built environment.
Sources: http://www.climatesciencewatch.org/index.php/csw/details/congress_still_unclear_on_adaptation/ ; http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0609/24068.html
The Cooperative for Assistance and Relief Everywhere (including CARE and UNU EHS) in May released a new report on climate-induced human migration and displacement, which suggests that most relocation will occur at the regional, rather than international, scale. In Search of Shelter: Mapping the Effects of Climate Change on Human Migration and Displacement specifically calls for more adaptation investment so that fewer people are forced to migrate.
Source: http://www.nature.com/climate/2009/0907/full/climate.2009.56.html ;
http://www.ehs.unu.edu/article:744 ;
http://www.care.org/getinvolved/advocacy/migration_talkingpoints.asp
Members of the NGO Community published a blueprint for a Copenhagen Agreement, entitled 'Copenhagen Climate Treaty - Version 1.0', suggesting how major differences between rich and poor nations can be overcome to reach a fair and ambitious global agreement.
Source: http://www.germanwatch.org/klima/treaty.htm
IUCN has released a new report on the threats to coral reefs posed by climate change, focusing on coral bleaching and thermal stress, and how management of coral reefs may be improved, entitled 'Resilience Assessment of Coral Reefs'. The report outlines a protocol that defines basic resilience indicators that can be quantified using rapid assessment methods.
Source: http://www.iucn.org/about/work/programmes/marine/marine_our_work/climate_change/?3173/Manage-corals---Minimize-climate-change
The Climate Action Network (CAN) in May released a position and briefing paper on adaptation and ecosystems, available at: http://www.climatenetwork.org/climate-change-basics/by-topic/CAN%20adaptation%20and%20ecosystems%20position%20and%20briefing%20paper%20260509%20FINAL.doc/view
The sixth meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board took place in Bonn from June 15 to 17, 2009.
Among other issues, the Board discussed the fiduciary standards for implementing entities as part of the operational framework of the Adaptation Fund; the TORs and General Guidelines for Board Committees; the offers to recognize legal capacity and host the Board; and the Adaptation Fund logo.
http://www.adaptation-fund.org
Bonn Climate Change Talks: 1-12 June 2009
Four Meetings were held in Bonn from 1-12 June 2009 as part of ongoing negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The Convention’s Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) held their 30th sessions. The sixth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA 6) and the eighth session of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Protocol (AWG-KP 8) also took place.
AWG-KP 8 continued considering Annex1 Parties further commitments under the Protocol. Discussions focused on proposals by various parties for Annex I countries’ aggregate and individual emission reduction targets beyond 2012. No agreement was reached on the targets.
Under the AWG-LCA, discussions focused on developing negotiating text using the Chair’s draft (FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/8) as the starting point. The main outcome was a 200-page draft negotiating text, to be forwarded to the AWG-LCA’s next meeting, and covers all the main elements of the Bali Action Plan, namely: a shared vision for long-term cooperative action, mitigation, adaptation, finance, and technology.
For more information, contact: UNFCCC Secretariat; tel: +49-228-815-1000; fax: +49-228-815-1999; e-mail: secretariat@unfccc.int; internet: http://unfccc.int/
Summit on Economics of Adaptation, Ruschlikon Switzerland, 9-10, July, 2009.
The Summit on the Economics of Adaptation was jointly organized by SwissRe and Mckinsey & Company. There were discussions on new and provocative ideas including risk transfer in particularly vulnerable communities, Financing and Investment in the Water Sector. Presentations were also shared on detailed findings from the working group, a partnership of multi-lateral institutions (United Nations Environment Programme, Global Environment Facility), leading environmental institutions (Rockefeller Foundation, Climate Works), and private sector players (Standard Charter Bank, Swiss Re), on adaptation strategy methodology and risk management framework, with the aim of providing decision makers with frameworks and facts to design and execute an adaptation strategy.
For more information, contact:
Jian. Liu@unep.org Greg_Hintz@mckinsey.com