Adaptation and DRR: Creating a Coherent Approach to Climate Change (Norway)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway
contact: Kristel.Manal.Tonstad@mfa.no
Description
The IPCC Report on 'Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Climate Change Adaptation' (SREX) affirmed the established links between climate change and extreme weather: climate change is affecting extreme events; extreme events are affecting the environment and societies, and some communities, individuals and sectors are more vulnerable to extremes than others. Consequences of failing to reach the two-degree goal include the extinction of animal and plant species, displacement, and adverse health impacts.
Extreme weather, rising sea levels and drought are already leading to significant human and economic losses across the globe. For the most vulnerable countries and for the most vulnerable groups and people climate change may severely threaten past, current and future development gains.
The IPCC also confirms that losses and damages may be substantially reduced by taking preventive measures through adaptation and disaster risk reduction. Social, economic and environmental sustainability can be enhanced by disaster risk management and adaptation approaches. Actions that range from incremental steps to transformational changes are essential for reducing risk from climate extremes.
The international community agrees that there is also a need to strengthen efforts to address the losses and damages associated with the impacts of climate change. As a consequence, the COP 18 decided to establish institutional arrangements to enhance knowledge and understanding of comprehensive risk management approaches, to strengthen dialogue, coordination and coherence among relevant stakeholders and to enhance action and support to address loss and damage associated with the impacts of climate change in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.
The latest round of negotiations in Doha also resulted in the agreement to support developing countries in their effort to integrate climate change adaptation and resilience into sectoral and development planning through the National Adaptation Plan process. Parallel to this, governments and humanitarian actors are working to build resilience to disasters in the context of the Hyogo Framework, and to respond to global developments in the revision of a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2).
While the seriousness of the scenarios if the two-degree goal is not reached must not be underplayed, DRR and CCA goals, efforts and synergies in international finance have yet to be fully realized and remain fragmented. According to the SREX report, closer integration of disaster risk management and climate change adaptation, along with the incorporation of both into local, sub-national, national, and international development policies and practices, could provide benefits at all scales.
Adequate investments must be made to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already occurring, while at the same time preparing for future impacts. This calls for making global and local connections and improving coordination between organizations, institutions and frameworks concerned with DRR and CCA. In this context, the Government of Norway is inviting various stakeholders to a consultation on how to create coherent response to climate change by integrating adaptation approaches with efforts to reduce the risks of disasters.
The session objectives are to:
1. Facilitate the dialogue between different stakeholders working on CCA and DRR, including climate negotiators, humanitarian actors, businesses, and government
2. Discuss how to integrate and use knowledge and tools such as the IPCC-SREX report and the Global Framework for Climate Services (GFCS) in the global agenda for DRR
3. Discuss the roles of various organisations and potential gaps in the institutional arrangements when it comes to financing and implementing DRR and CCA
Expected Outcomes
1. Facilitate the dialogue between different stakeholders working on 1. Identify concrete and coordinated steps to reduce the risks of disasters in the short-term while adapting to climate change in the long-term
2. Identify ways to fill the gaps in financing and in institutional arrangements for responding to climate change and extreme weather
3. Make recommendations for how a post-2015 framework for disaster risk reduction (HFA2) can integrate DRR with CCA and incorporate relevant research and tools
Outcomes
- View session report (237.50 Kb)
