The network of institutions created during the last 25 years and the growth of adaptation-related initiatives under the UN climate change process has helped stimulate significant on-the-ground action to build resilience to the inevitable impacts of climate change around the globe.
This is the key conclusion of a report entitled 25 Years of Adaptation Under the UNFCCC, which offers an overview of the adaptation architecture under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change process and how it has evolved since 1994, the year the Convention entered into force. The report was launched at the UN Climate Change Conference COP25 in Madrid last December by the Adaptation Committee.
For example, the UNFCCC process has led to 17 countries so far submitting their national adaptation plans (NAPs), with 120 developing countries working on their NAPs. These plans contain tangible and concrete steps that can help countries build a bridge to a climate-resilient future, such as by climate-proofing infrastructure across sectors, or promoting climate-resilient agriculture to ensure food security.
The Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative, a joint action pledge under the Nairobi work programme, has so far identified over 85 priority adaptation knowledge gaps across six subregions related to areas such as health, water and agriculture, and helped catalyze action such as enhanced dissemination and use of knowledge from practical adaptation activities to bridge these gaps.
Additionally, the various funds connected with the UNFCCC process continuously support a wide range of concrete adaptation initiatives, such as helping coastal communities better protect themselves against floods through resilient housing, or helping farmers adopt climate-smart agricultural practices.
The report tells the story of how work on adaptation under the UNFCCC process progressed over time. Initially, this work addressed the question of “do we need to adapt?”
Beyond the efforts to strengthen technical and institutional capacities, over the years the UNFCCC process has also increasingly provided financial and technological support for planning, implementing and evaluating adaptation measures. This includes funding through the Global Environment Facility (GEF), Green Climate Fund (GCF), and Adaptation Fund, as well as technology-related support through the Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN).
Looking ahead, the report concludes with an overview of the global stocktake – a cyclical mechanism established to review progress and enhance action and support towards the goals of the Paris Agreement – and what it will accomplish in relation to adaptation.
This will help shed light on the scale and success of adaptation efforts, as well as on where more work is needed within and outside the UNFCCC process to accelerate these efforts.
Read and download the report: 25 Years of Adaptation Under the UNFCCC
Original source: UNFCCC
Published on 27 January 2019