Climate change impacts, adaptation measures and response strategies

Adaptation measures should be focused on efficiency and conservation.

Some Parties discussed and evaluated the costs of adaptation measures for various scenarios of sea level rise, and estimated the opportunity costs of undertaking no adaptation measures.

Adaptation measures will include protection and remediation measures that would ensure the future viability of the destination.

Part of the solution may be the adaptation of energy conservation measures.

The secretariat's activities relating to adaptation and the implementation of the Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures, including impacts, vulnerability assessments, systematic observation, adaptation planning and response measures, which are presently coordinated across different programmes, will be consolidated in one programme.

She said that Uruguay developed a programme of measures for mitigation and adaptation that includes vulnerability analysis, and identified adaptation measures for agriculture, biodiversity, coastal resources, water resources, fishery resources, and human health.

Increased funding opportunities are needed for climate change adaptation as well as mitigation measures.

Another participant expressed concern about ways to capture and apply endogenous knowledge regarding adaptation measures.

FCCC CP 2004 L.16 Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures.

Although the theme of the programme of work on adaptation on adaptation planning, measures and actions is the main place to address technologies for adaptation, technology components could be considered and actions could be identified also in its other main themes.

Adaptation, Technology and Science (ATS) supports Parties' work on adaptation and response measures, as outlined in decision 1 CP.10, in cooperation with a wide range of intergovernmental organizations (IGOs).

Ms. Virginia Sena, Uruguay, outlined identification of adaptation measures and related technologies in Uruguay's second national communication.

It was also recommended for use, with some adaptation, in the design and evaluation of security measures.

Most of the adaptation options were identified using the IPCC Guidelines and global circulation models, which do not adequately address methods for evaluation and or costing specific adaptation strategies and measures.

First, policy frameworks for addressing climate change impacts and adaptation measures are often incomplete and second, government policy frameworks and regulation objectives are often inconsistent with climate change adaptation and mitigation goals.

Some Parties have included adaptation measures in their national action plans and or national environmental action plans as a first step towards implementation of adaptation, and others have reported that some legislative changes would help facilitate incorporation of climate change adaptation in the future.

Many Parties did not clearly indicate the methods they used in assessing and analysing adaptation options, measures and strategies.

Most of the adaptation options were identified using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) IPCC Technical Guidelines for Assessing Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation (hereinafter referred to as the IPCC Guidelines) and the GCMs to evaluate and or determine the cost of specific adaptation strategies and measures.

He stressed the importance of adaptation noting that climate change cannot be totally avoided and it may be more rapid and pronounced than currently suggested anticipatory adaptation is more effective and less costly than emergency measures and immediate benefits can be gained from better adaptation to climate variability and extreme events.

Sectoral adaptation and response measures Most Parties provided information on adaptation options, measures and or strategies relating to climate change impacts for a wide range of sectors, such as agriculture, water resources, coastal zones and marine ecosystems, forests and terrestrial ecosystems, human health, fisheries, human settlements, tourism, energy and biodiversity.

Table 3 provides a summary of adaptation options, measures and strategies envisaged for key vulnerable sectors in non Annex I Parties.

Many Parties did not provide a clear indication of the methods used in assessing and analysing adaptation options, measures and strategies.

The Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures had to be rendered effective and provided with sufficient resources.

She stressed that adaptation is a cross cutting activity under the UNFCCC and that the SBSTA, as requested by decision 1 CP.10, is preparing a five year structured programme of work on adaptation that would address four main themes methodologies, data and modelling vulnerability assessments adaptation planning, measures and actions (where most of the work on technologies for adaptation fits) and integration into sustainable development.

Adaptation funding from public sources reached 23 26 billion in 2012 2013. According to a recent assessment by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, global financial flows for mitigation and adaptation measures amounted to 340 650 billion in 2011 2012.

Thus, the clean development mechanism should be strengthened, and measures on adaptation and the transfer and development of technologies had to be enhanced.

Some Parties attributed the difficulties relating to vulnerability and adaptation assessment to the lack of country specific socio economic scenarios, the lack of collection, quality control, archiving, retrieval, preparation and analysis of data, and the lack of comprehensive studies on possible adaptation measures and cost benefit analysis of adaptation options (e.g. Brazil, China, India, South Africa).

She hoped for a discussion on impacts that technology changes may have in communities, and on technology and adaptation measures and their successful applications.

Adaptation Fund

This document compiles and summarizes information on climate change impacts, adaptation measures and response strategies in Parties not included in Annex I to the Convention.

To preserve the livelihoods of farmers and support the growing world population, adaptation and mitigation measures are both essential responses in planning for climate change.

Although the information centred on Parties' current and future vulnerability and adaptation options, measures and strategies, information was also provided on the methods and approaches used in vulnerability and adaptation assessments, limitations of methods and tools, problems and difficulties encountered, sectors studied, methods for analysing and evaluating adaptation needs and priorities for financial and technical support, and institutional arrangements and networking.

The Adaptation Imperative

Methodologies for vulnerability assessment, reporting in national communications, research and systematic observation, funding issues, adaptation technologies, addressing adverse effects of climate change, and impacts of response measures.

The Age of Adaptation

On adaptation, he pointed out that households have been implementing different technologies for adaptation for decades, and that many decisions on adaptation are taken at the community level through farm associations.

Parties also highlighted some barriers to implementation of adaptation strategies and measures. These included technological, financial and human resource constraints, which are prevalent in most non Annex I Parties.

Item 4 (c) Development and transfer of technologies Item 4 (e)(i) Implementation of the Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures (decision 1 CP.10)

Adaptation Adaptation has, since COP 8, emerged as a more central element of the climate change intergovernmental process.

He mentioned plans for an online database of adaptation options to share local knowledge and endogenous adaptation techniques.

Adaptation Fund (Agenda item 9)

The adoption of the Buenos Aires programme of work on adaptation and response measures (decision 1 CP.10) was a major step forward, although questions remain concerning implementation and financing.

Mr. Ji Zou, China, noting that his country faces numerous challenges for adaptation to climate change, highlighted the need for coordinating the design and implementation of measures to promote technology transfer, which could include defining concepts, awareness raising, enhancing early warning systems and models, building human capacity, and identifying priorities for adaptation.

Another adaptation would be this piece.