Documents on Adaptation to Climate Change

The objective of the work on adaptation is twofold: first to assess institutional, regulatory and policy needs and approaches for adaptation in the key sectors at the national level; and second to analyse a possible architecture and the key components of an international agreement on adaptation in the post-2012 framework.

• Adaptation to Climate Change: International Agreements for Local Needs (December 2007)
  By Ellina Levina
  Despite current efforts and attention to adaptation, a big gap remains between adaptation needs and current efforts to address them. It has been recognised by both developing and developed countries that adaptation deserves a special place in any climate regime that will follow the Kyoto Protocol after it expires in 2012. This paper outlines a possible framework for an agreement on adaptation and highlights several issues that need to be recognised and clarified to make such an agreement effective. It examines the current state of play on adaptation at the international level, assesses several recent proposals on how to treat adaptation in a post-2012 agreement, and it indicates how other international agreements – such as the MDG and The Convention on Biodiversity – also address adaptation.
  
  
• Stocktaking of Progress on Integrating Adaptation to Climate Change into Development Co-operation Activities (September 2007)
  By Simone Gigli and Shardul Agrawala
  Factoring climate concerns into development projects is a pressing need for aid recipients and a sound strategy for international donors. This report surveys 26 bilateral and 10 multilateral donors to track trends and highlight innovative approaches used by them to incorporate climate risks into their activities. The report concludes that international donors have made significant progress in recognizing the importance of climate risks in their development co-operation policies. Translating such concerns into operational practices, however, remains a difficult challenge.
  
  
• Policy Frameworks for Adaptation to Climate Change in Coastal Zones: The Case of the Gulf of Mexico (May 2007)
  By Ellina Levina, with J. Jacobs, L.E. Ramos Bustillos, I. Ortiz,
  This paper is the third of a series of AIXG papers on the role that national policy frameworks of various sectors play in adaptation to climate change. The aim of this paper is to identify and analyse policy frameworks that are important for facilitating adaptation to climate change impacts in coastal zones. The paper is based on a case study analysis of the Gulf of Mexico and examines two countries, the US and Mexico. It considers two climate change effects specific to coastal areas: sea level rise and storms.
  
  
• Domestic Policy Frameworks for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Water sector, Part II: Non-Annex I Countries  (Lessons learned from Mexico, India, Argentina, Zimbabwe) (November 2006)
  By Ellina Levina
  All countries have complex water policy frameworks that reflect historical precedents and their local circumstances. This paper examines domestic policy frameworks in the water sector in four developing countries (Argentina, India, Mexico, and Zimbabwe) and identifies how adaptation to climate change can be integrated into these frameworks. The paper draws lessons from these countries about the roles that national policy frameworks can play in adaptation to climate change in the water sector. Where possible, the study compares the findings of this paper with the conclusions of similar assessment of four Annex I countries. The key elements of the analysis in both cases were the same and included legislation, institutional structures, water management tools and policies, and information availability and use.
  
  
• Domestic Policy Frameworks for Adaptation to Climate Change in the Water Sector: Part I - Annex I Countries (March 2006)
  By Ellina Levina & Helen Adams
  Adaptation to climate change needs to be integrated into policy development. This paper, produced under the auspices of the Annex I Expert Group on the UNFCCC, examines domestic policy frameworks in the water sector and analyses how adaptation could be incorporated into these frameworks. Global climate change will have a significant impact on water resources in all countries.  Consequently, a key challenge that countries face is how to govern and manage their water resources in the conditions of changing climate. What should be done, when and by whom, is a function of the rate of climate change, but also of the existing water policy frameworks of each country.
  
  
• Progress on Adaptation to Climate Change in Developed Countries: An Analysis of Broad Trends (May 2006)
  By Frédéric Gagnon-Lebrun & Shardul Agrawala
  This paper provides an assessment of broad trends in progress on assessment and implementation of adaptation to climate change in “developed countries”, defined here as being Member states of the OECD and/or Parties listed under Annex I of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  
  
• Adaptation to Climate Change: Key Terms (November 2005)
  By Ellina Levina & Dennis Tirpak
  Adaptation has become an important issue in international and domestic discussions on climate change. Numerous terms and concepts have come into common usage as a result of IPCC reports, discussions in the context of the UNFCCC and dialogs by the climate community at large. This paper, produced under the auspices of the Annex I Expert Group on the UNFCCC, examines the key adaptation terms and concepts used by the climate change community and other institutions. Conflicts and contradictions are noted with the aim of sensitizing different bodies to the differences, but particularly the Parties to the Convention and experts participating in the IPCC. Given the need to promote a common understanding among various stakeholders and the potential financial implications of various definitions, it appears important for the IPCC and the UNFCCC to work toward common definitions, at least for a core set of terms and concepts.
  
  
• The Adaptation Landscape (November 2005)
  By Dennis Tirpak & Murray Ward
  Adaptation to the impacts of climate change is a crucial international climate change policy issue affecting all countries. This short ‘think piece’, produced under the auspices of the Annex I Expert Group on the UNFCCC, describes adaptation in the context of current international discussions of climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It also broadens the discussion and addresses other societal groups. We call this the “the adaptation landscape”.