UNFCCC Post2012 Negotiations and the Nairobi Work Programme on Adaptation

1
UNFCCC Post-2012 Negotiations and the Nairobi
Work Programme on Adaptation
IPCC Scoping Meeting for a potential Special
Report on "Extreme Events and Disasters Managing
the Risks" Oslo, Norway, 23-26 March 2009

• Youssef Nassef
• Manager of the Adaptation Subprogramme
• UNFCCC Secretariat
• ynassef_at_unfccc.int
• http//www.unfccc.int

2
Messages

• Extreme events are not mentioned in the UNFCCC,
  but are referred to in a number of mandates and
  deliverables
• In addition to the dedicated area of work on
  climate related risks and extreme events under
  the NWP, reference to this issue also appears
  under ongoing discussions on insurance, NAPA
  implementation, adaptation planning, and
  integration into national policy
• We are at a stage where the needs relating to
  managing risks of extreme events are well
  documented in the context of UNFCCC negotiations
  and related outputs
• Negotiations under the Bali Action Plan are
  likely to move this issue forward as part of the
  future agreement.

3
Outline

• Adaptation under the Convention
• Ongoing adaptation work
• SBI Decision 1/CP.10 and NAPAs
• SBSTA Nairobi work programme
• Post-2012 negotiations
• AWG-LCA the Bali Action Plan
• Insurance-related actions
• Towards COP 15, Copenhagen, and the future
  agreement

4
1. Adaptation under the Convention
5
UNFCCC Provisions

• All Parties shall formulate, implement, publish
  and regularly update national and ... regional
  programmes containing measures to facilitate
  adequate adaptation to climate change Article
  4.1 (b)
• All Parties shall Cooperate in preparing for
  adaptation to the impacts of climate change
  Article 4.1 (e)
• The developed country Partiesshall also assist
  the developing country Parties in meeting costs
  of adaptation to those adverse effects Article
  4.4
• The Parties shall give full consideration to
  actions necessary to meet the specific needs and
  concerns of developing countries arising from the
  adverse effects of climate change, including
  actions related to funding, insurance and
  transfer of technology Article 4.8
• 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

6
Complementary Tracks
Technical/methodological aspects and knowledge
sharing
Post-2012 negotiations
Implementation aspects
Subsidiary Body for Implementation
(SBI) 1/CP.10 NAPAs
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological
Advice (SBSTA) Nairobi work programme
Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative
Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) Bali
Action Plan
Financial and technological support,
Capacity-building
7
2. Ongoing adaptation work

• Subsidiary Body for Implementation
• Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological
  Advice

8
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)

• Decision 1/CP.10 Buenos Aires programme of work
• Responding to the adverse effects of climate
  change in line with Article 4 of the Convention
• Information exchange and integrated assessments
  to assist Parties in identifying region-specific
  gaps, needs and concerns (workshop reports and
  synthesis report available from the UNFCCC
  website)
• National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs)
• Process for assessment and communication of
  urgent and immediate adaptation needs in LDCs,
  drawing on existing information and
  community-level inputs
• 39 NAPAs submitted, including 437 projects, such
  as
• 30 projects disaster management and early
  warning systems
• 2 projects insurance.

9
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological
Advice (SBSTA)
10
Relevant areas of work under the Nairobi work
programme

• Climate-related risks and extreme events
• Promoting understanding of impacts of, and
  vulnerability to, climate change, current and
  future climate variability and extreme events,
  and the implications for sustainable development
• Adaptation planning and practices
• Collecting, analysing and disseminating
  information on past and current practical
  adaptation actions and measures, including
  adaptation projects, short- and long-term
  adaptation strategies, and local and indigenous
  knowledge
• Facilitating communication and cooperation among
  and between Parties and relevant organizations,
  business, civil society, and decision makers, and
  other stakeholders

11
Examples of relevant outcomes from the Nairobi
work programme so far

• Gaps, needs, opportunities (through workshop
  reports)
• Climate related risks and extreme events
  workshop held in Cairo, June 2007 (Report of
  the workshop FCCC/SBSTA/2007/7)
• Adaptation planning and practices workshop held
  in Rome, September 2007, in collaboration with
  FAO (Report of the workshop FCCC/SBSTA/2007/15)
• Integrating practices, tools and systems for
  climate risk assessment and management and DRR
  strategies into national policies and programme
  workshop held in Havana, March 2009, in
  collaboration with UNISDR (Report forthcoming)
• Current practices and information analyzed
  (through technical papers)
• Physical and socioeconomic trends in
  climate-related risks and extreme events, and
  their implications for sustainable development
  (FCCC/TP/2008/3)
• Integrating practices, tools and systems for
  climate risk assessment and management and
  disaster risk reduction strategies into national
  policies and programme (FCCC/TP/2008/4)
• Knowledge and information on adaptation
  undertaken by a wide range of partner
  organizations, shared through
• Adaptation practices interface (http//unfccc.int/
  4555.php)
• Adaptation private sector initiative
  (http//unfccc.int/4623.php)
• User-friendly ourreaching materials in UN
  languages

12
Examples of needs in risk management identified
by the Nairobi work programme

• Guidance on the links between disaster risk
  reduction strategies and adaptation.
• Access to information on data archives/databases
  for risk assessment and prediction.
• Capacity to integrate climate-based information
  and services through collaboration dialogues,
  such as agricultural/food security outlook forums
  or health outlook forums.
• Risk-mapping of health impacts. Standardized
  indicators for changes in health impacts and for
  effectiveness of risk reduction and adaptation
  measures.
• Analysis of links between livelihoods and
  ecosystem services provided by coral reefs,
  mangroves and wetlands with a view to
  identifying/disseminating options for risk
  management, particularly for vulnerable coastal
  communities.
• Insurance-related instruments for coping with
  climate variability and change and promoting
  adaptation, and analysing their role in
  decision-making towards risk reduction.
• Documenting, cataloguing, using and disseminating
  traditional knowledge to assist climate risk
  reduction and adaptation planning, including how
  to blend indigenous practices with scientific
  knowledge in assessing, predicting and managing
  risks.
• Enhanced efforts to develop and apply methods to
  assess costs and benefits of adaptation options,
  and costs of inaction, in all sectors, including
  non-monetary costs associated with impacts on
  ecosystem services and indigenous cultures.

13
3. Post-2012 Negotiations
Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative
Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA)
14
Post-2012 negotiations AWG-LCA
1/CP.13 Bali Action Plan (BAP)

• Five pillars
• Enhanced action on adaptation includes
• International cooperation to support urgent
  implementation of adaptation actions
• Integration of adaptation actions
• Means to incentivize the implementation of
  adaptation actions,
• Risk management and risk reduction strategies
• Disaster reduction strategies and means to
  address loss and damage associated with climate
  change impacts in developing countries
• Economic diversification to build resilience
• Strengthening the catalytic role of the
  Convention.

15
Relevant outputs under the BAP so far

• In-session workshops (reports available)
• Advancing adaptation through finance and
  technology, including NAPAs (AWG-LCA2)
• Four components in adaptation deliberations
• National Planning for Adaptation
• Streamlining and scaling up financial and
  technological support
• Enhancing knowledge sharing
• Institutional frameworks for adaptation
• Risk management and risk reduction strategies,
  including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms,
  such as insurance (AWG-LCA4)
• Thematic documents
• Technical paper on mechanisms to manage financial
  risks from direct impacts of climate change in
  developing countries (FCCC/TP/2008/9)
• Adaptation-related activities within the United
  Nations system (FCCC/AWGLCA/2008/INF.2)
• Ideas and proposals on paragraph 1 of the Bali
  Action Plan (Assembly paper, FCCC/AWGLCA/2008/16/R
  ev.1)
• Fulfillment of the Bali Action Plan and
  components of the agreed outcome
  (FCCC/AWGLCA/2009/4 part I II)

16
Discussions on adaptation focusing on risk under
the BAP

• Ways to deal with risks, including
  insurance-related mechanisms for reducing risk
• Formulating and implementing adaptation plans
  that integrate, prioritize and effectively use
  scientific information
• Enabling environments
• Incentivizing adaptation
• Economic diversification
• Knowledge sharing
• Employing financial resources and technology

Possible need for a new risk mechanism, under the
UNFCCC, incorporating such areas as insurance,
rehabilitation/compensation and risk management
17
Insurance-related actions

• Current and potential mechanisms to manage
  financial risks from direct impacts of climate
  change
• Discussed in the UNFCCC technical paper
  (FCCC/TP/2008/9)
• Need for a portfolio of mechanisms
• Proposals put forward by Parties and
  organizations at the risk management in-session
  workshop
• AOSIS Multi-Window Mechanism
• MCII Risk Management Framework
• EU Framework for Action on Adaptation
• Areas of convergence
• Development of enabling environment is essential
• Financial mechanisms for risk sharing and
  transfer have the potential to stimulate
  preventive action
• Support of international community in developing,
  adopting and scaling up financial mechanisms is
  essential
• Joint schemes, and international and regional
  coordination and cooperation need to be promoted

18
4. Towards COP15, Copenhagen, and a future
agreement
19
Time table 2009

• NWP workshops
• Increasing economic resilience to climate change
  and reducing reliance on vulnerable economic
  sectors. 28-30 April, Egypt
• Advancing the integration of various approaches
  to adaptation planning, including scaling up of
  local and community-based adaptation.
  September
• Negotiating sessions
• AWG-LCA 5 29 March 8 April, Bonn
• AWG-LCA 6 SB 30 1 12 June, Bonn
• AWG-LCA 7 28 Sept 9 October, Bangkok
• AWG-LCA 8, COP 15 and CMP 5
• 7 - 18 December, Copenhagen

20
Thank you!For further information on the
Nairobi work programme, see lthttp//unfccc.int/nwp
gtFor further information on adaptation, see
lthttp//unfccc.int/4159gt

• Youssef Nassef
• Manager of the Adaptation Subprogramme
• UNFCCC Secretariat
• ynassef_at_unfccc.int