UNFCCC presentation template

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC Process
Olga Pilifosova, UNFCCC
Secretariat An International Workshop on
Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change
From Practice to Policy New Delhi May 11-12,
2006
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change
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Outline

• Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP
• Adaptation- evolving focus
• Montreal and beyond
• Developing technical advice SBSTA 5 year
  programme of work
• Advancing funding arrangements
• Other
• Emerging issues

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP

• Ultimate objective
• The ultimate objective of this Convention is to
  achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas
  concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
  would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
  interference with the climate system. Such a
  level should be achieved within a time-frame
  sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally
  to climate change, to ensure that food production
  is not threatened and to enable economic
  development to proceed in a sustainable manner.
• Article 2

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP cont.

• Measures to facilitate adaptation
• All Parties shall Formulate, implement,
  publish and regularly update national and, where
  appropriate, regional programmes containing
  measures to facilitate adequate adaptation to
  climate change
• Article 4.1(b) UNFCCC
• Article 10(b) KP

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP cont.

• Cooperative adaptation
• 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) UNFCCC

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP cont.

• Assistance
• 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 UNFCCC
• Conference of Parties ensure share of proceeds
  from certified project activities used to
  assist developing country Parties that are
  particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of
  climate change to meet the costs of adaptation.
• Article 12.8 KP

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP cont.

• Specific needs and concerns
• small islands and low-lying coastal areas
• arid and semi-arid areas, forested areas and
  areas liable to forest decay
• areas prone to natural disasters
• areas liable to drought and desertification
• areas of high urban atmospheric pollution
• areas with fragile ecosystems, including
  mountainous ecosystems
• land-locked and transit countries
• Article 4.8 UNFCCC

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Adaptation in the UNFCCC and KP cont.

• Least developed countries
• 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 UNFCCC

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Adaptation- evolving focus

• Identifying impacts
• 1995-1998 IPCC FAR, SAR Climate change detected.
  Two questions
• (1) what are the impacts of climate change, how
  dangerous they are?
• (2) how to adapt to climate change?
• UNFCCC/COP1 identified 3 stages of adaptation
  
• Up to 2000 Focus on stage I and II addressing
  studies of possible impacts of climate change, to
  identify particularly vulnerable countries or
  regions and policy options for adaptation and
  appropriate capacity building

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Adaptation- evolving focus cont.

• Identifying impacts and Preparing for adaptation
• 2001
• IPCC TAR adaptation in the context of SD and
  equity
• COP 7 Marrakech accords
• 3 new funds
• Decision 5/CP7 identifies 18 areas of assistance
  on adaptation
• Process of development NAPAs in LDCs
• 2002 Delhi Ministerial Declaration
• 2003 SBSTA work on scientific, technical and
  socio-economic aspects on adaptation
• 2004 Decision 1/CP.10 Buenos Aires Programme of
  Work on Adaptation and Response Measures

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Montreal and beyond

• 2005
• SBSTA five-year programme on impacts,
  vulnerability and adaptation to climate change
• Advancing funding arrangements
• Technologies for adaptation
• 2006
• 5 year programme of work from negotiations to
  implementation

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Developing technical advice SBSTA 5 year
programme of work on impacts, vulnerability and
adaptation 2/CP.11

• Objective
• to assist all Parties to improve their
  understanding and assessment of impacts,
  vulnerability and adaptation, and to make
  informed decisions on practical adaptation
  actions
• Expected outcomes
• Enhanced capacity, cooperation and integration at
  the international, regional, national, sectoral
  and local levels, targeting Parties, relevant
  organizations, business, civil society, and
  decision makers
• Improved information and advice to COP
• Scope
• 2 themes impacts and vulnerability, adaptation
  planning meassures and actions
• 10 action oriented sub-themes
• Cross-cutting aspects and methods and
  integration to SD
• List of modalities
• Process for implementation
• Start immediately with implementation of initial
  activities defined by SBSTA23
• Review the Programme at SBSTA28 (June 2008) based
  on their results and IPCC AR4
• Involve relevant organizations and stakeholders

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Developing technical advice SBSTA 5 year
programme of work on impacts, vulnerability and
adaptation SBSTA23

• Draft indicative list of specific activities 24
  activities, modalities, timing and possible
  partners
• Requested to organize informal meeting of the
  representatives of Parties to further develop the
  indicative list Vienna, 13-15 March
• Agreed to consider the outcome of this meeting at
  its twenty-fourth session, with a view to
  identifying the activities starting as of 2006
• Requested the secretariat to develop an initial
  list of organizations active in areas relevant to
  the programme of work

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SBSTA 5 year programme of work on impacts,
vulnerability and adaptation Vienna meeting

• Developed a streamlined list of initial
  activities which
• Strike a balance between the continuation and
  enhancement of ongoing activities and new
  activities
• Maximize involvement of stakeholders and
  organizations
• Take into account the need to target a range of
  audiences (not only SBSTA itself)
• Take into account practical constraints (time,
  availability of human and financial resources)

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SBSTA 5 year programme of work on impacts,
vulnerability and adaptation Vienna meeting

• 9 Initial activities
• Data and observations builds on work on
  systematic observations focusing on target
  audience and IVA needs
• Methods and tools extends the work on methods
  and tools
• Climate modeling and downscaling promotes
  applications, applicability, availability
• Climate related risks and extreme events
  promotes understanding of climate variability and
  CC risks and adaptation to these
• Socio-economic information availability and
  applicability for data for vulnerability
  assessments
• Adaptation planning and practices draws upon
  work of practitioners and experts, includes
  sharing of knowledge and information between
  stakeholders, brining different communities
  together
• Economic diversification considers increasing
  economic resilience on vulnerable economic
  sectors
• Research builds on SBSTA work on research
• Technologies for adaptation builds on work of
  the EGTT

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Next steps, SBSTA24

• Completing negotiations and start implementation
  i,.e. agree on modalities (expert group(s) -?),
  timing, target audience, partners, deliverables,
  role of the SBSTA
• THE CHALLENGE
• High expectations for delivery
• SBSTA needs to make a strategic choice and plan
  useful initial activities to maintain the
  momentum from Buenos Aires and Montreal

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Advancing funding Adaptation Fund

• 28/CMP.1 adopted initial guidance to the AF
• To fund concrete adaptation projects and
  programmes in developing country Parties that are
  Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, and activities
  identified in decision 5/CP.7
• The operation to be guided by a country-driven
  and learning-by-doing approach, sound financial
  management and transparency, and separation from
  other funding sources
• One year process to identify
• Specific policies, programme priorities and
  eligibility criteria
• How the AF will be managed (GEF or not GEF)
• Workshop to exchange views on further guidance
  Canada, May 2006
• Expectations for SB24
• Draft decision for COP/MOP2 - Cross-linked with
  review of FM and MOU with GEF under Kyoto
  Protocol

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Advancing funding LDC Fund

• COP/MOP (3/CP.11) gave further guidance on
  operation of LDC Fund
• provision of full-cost funding for adaptation
  increment as identified and prioritized in the
  NAPAs,
• request to GEF to develop a co-financing scale
  and flexible modalities
• COP/MOP (4/CP.11) requested the LEG to develop
  work programme which includes the implementation
  of national adaptation programmes
• Meeting between LDCs and GEF held in Dhaka,
  Bangladesh, from 6 to 8 April 2006
• Funds are currently available through the LDC
  fund to start implementation of specific
  projects. Several NAPAs developed. Several
  projects are identified.

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Other developments

• Regional workshops under 1/CP.10 to reflect
  regional priorities. First workshop Latin
  American regional workshop in Lima, April
• Technologies for adaptation
• EGTT considered a technical paper on applications
  of environmentally sound technologies for
  adaptation to climate change in 2005 and in
  Brussels, March 2006
• Special side event of the EGTT on technologies
  for adaptation will be held at SBSTA25
• On-hand VA regional trainings for AI NCs

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Emerging issues

• How to promote international cooperation on
  adaptation?
• International partnership on adaptation?
• How the international political process can
  promote actions on the ground?
• UNFCCC/SBSTA work/deliverables target not only
  (or not at all) negotiators but to practitioners
  (e.g. relevant national and sectoral institutions
  /organizations, projects,planners, development
  assistance, etc.)
• Bring together sectoral communities (water,
  agriculture, DRR, etc.) to discuss additional CC
  risks and possible adaptations in specific
  sectors
• Encourage incorporation of CC adaptation into
  national planning
• Promote bottom-up approaches under NCs, TT, etc.
  work
• More close work with IAs?
• How ground experiences can contribute to the
  international policy?
• Mainstreaming (attribution) how to help to adapt
  to CLIMATE CHANGE without duplicating work of
  development agencies?
• OTHER???

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Thank You! opilifososva_at_unfccc.int
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change