SDC climate change foresight analysis: Global and regional risks and hotspots

This paper is a strategic reflection on how the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) should increase its efforts to contribute to climate resilience in its working areas and to make its interventions fit for coping with climate change risks. One of the results of the reflection was the articulation of the need of a climate change foresight (cc foresight) analysis.

The cc foresight provides the SDC directorate and SDC units with information about shortand medium-term climate-related risks that might influence the programme and strategic work of SDC, and analyses these risks with regard to water, food, health and regional stability with a focus on short- and medium-term projections of 1–3 years in hotspots. Climate-related risks and hotspots are a result of a combination of climate change and variability, exposure and vulnerabilities of people and ecosystems and their ability to address those risks (readiness, adaptive capacity, etc.).