1 Climate Change and Disaster Risk Paola Albrito Regional Coordinator Europe UNISDR Secretariat London, 2009

2 Outline Increasing risk Linking DRR and CCA Climate change negotiations IPCC Special Report UNISDR initiatives Your initiatives

3 Low income Lower-middle income Upper-middle income High income CC impacts: more risk superimposed over increasing-risk pattern…and increasing inequality Source: EM-DAT, OFDA/CRED, Brussels, world data :

4 Climate change impacts IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, 2007 identifies most vulnerable to CC impacts: Sub-saharan Africa –drought, floods, food insecurity Asian river deltas –drought, floods, GLOFs Small island developing states –sea-level rise, storm surge, drought Polar regions (….and the poor in every country)

5 Retreat of Yanamarey Glacier (Cordillera Blanca- height 4786 msnm.)

6 May 10, 2005 Gurschen Glacier, Switzerland

7 Linking disaster risk reduction with climate change adaptation offers a win-win opportunity –Climate system is fundamental to both issues: 75% of all disasters are originated by weather & climate extremes –DRR and CCA strategies both are aimed at enhancing sustainability, resilient societies and human security –Similar sectoral focus, complexities & challenges, rely on same type of measures and policies –DRR offers opportunities for bottom-up strategies for adaptation to current climate variability and climate extremes –DRR can promote early adaptation to CC –DRR offers a way to address some of the main obstacles (economic, political, social, technological, and institutional) to develop total potential for adaptation

8 International Climate Change Processes UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Signed 1992, in force 1994, common but differentiated responsibilities principle mitigation and adaptation CDM: Clean Development Mechanism Joint Implemen- tation Emissions Trading KYOTO PROTOCOL Signed 1997, took effect 2005 Creates 3 mechanisms for mitigation IPCC 3 Working Groups: Science Mitigation Adaptation

9 International Climate Change Processes UNFCCC Conference of the Parties = COP Kyoto Protocol meets as COP/MOP IPCC Fourth assessment report 2007 Fifth assessment report prep Special report Managing the Risks of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Adaptation Out 2011 Promoted by UNISDR and Norway Decision 1/CP.10 Subsidiary bodies : SBSTA, SBI, Adhoc working group on long term co-operative action ( AWGLCA ), AWGKP Nairobi Work Programme Bali Action Plan

10 The Bali Action Plan Disaster reduction strategies and means to address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change The inclusion of disaster risk reduction reflects: Recognition that climate change adaptation should benefit from experience in reducing disaster risk Opportunity to build synergies: e.g., disseminate existing tools, scale- up successful risk reduction efforts A shift in the climate negotiations to integrate the agendas on mitigation, adaptation, technology transfer and funding Adopted by Governments at UNFCCC/COP-13, Bali, December 2007 Roadmap towards a new international climate change agreement post (Kyoto Protocol) Disaster risk reduction as part of enhanced action on climate change adaptation. Calls for:

11 Road to Copenhagen National action by ISDR partners UNFCCC LCA Bangkok 28 Sept- 9 Oct UNFCCC LCA/SBs Bonn 1-12 June ISDR Global Platform Geneva June Supporting delegations w/ DRR experts Advocacy in national policy fora on DRR and CC Advocacy with and through interagency mechanisms Guidance notes, technical reports and documenting lessons Documenting national experience UNFCCC LCA informal Bonn August UNFCCC LCA Barcelona 2-6 Nov COP Dec

12 IPCC: Understanding the problem scientists : human influence on climate greenhouse gases (GHG) accumulated in atmosphere since industrialization (1867) from burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. Projected: Temperature increase up to 6.4ºC Sea-level rise from 50 to 95 cm. ENSO more frequent and intense Increase in extreme events: drought, storms, floods Current is warmest period in 10,000 years and probably last 650,000

13 IPCC Climate Scenarios

14 IPCC Special Report Proposed by UNISDR and Norway 2008 Scoping meeting hosted by Norway 2009 Agreed unanimously by IPCC in April 2009 Report Managing the Risk of Extreme Events and Disasters to Advance Adaptation to be completed mid chapters including 1 on case studies

15 IPCC Special Report--Outline 1. Climate change: new dimensions in disaster risk, exposure, vulnerability, and resilience Risk reduction, risk management, risk transfer; Coping vs. adapting; Extreme events vs. extreme impacts 2. Determinants of risks: exposure and vulnerability Vulnerability profiles; Coping and adaptive capacities; risk identification, risk accumulation, and the nature of disasters 3. Changes in climate extremes and their impacts on natural physical environment Weather and climate events related to disasters; extremes and impacts: changing landscape; causes behind changes; long- term changes 4. Changes in impacts of climate extremes: human systems and ecosystems Role of extremes in natural and socioeconomic systems; impacts and relation to hazards; system exposure and vulnerability; sectoral vulnerability; costs.

16 IPCC Special Report--Outline 5.Managing the risks from climate extremes at the local level Community coping, migration; community-based DRM; gender, age, wealth, and entitlements; social transfers, microfinance; risk transfers; data as input; costs of managing extremes risks 6. Managing the risks from climate extremes at the national level Practice, methods and tools; planning and policies: institutions, legislation, and finance; the links between national and local scales; costs 7.Managing the risks: international level and integration across scales Policy frameworks, humanitarian institutions; international law and finance; technology cooperation risk transfer perspective on links between local, national, and global; costs

17 IPCC Special Report--Outline 8.Toward a sustainable and resilient future DRR, adaptation, development planning; term coping and long term adaptation; interaction with GHG mitigation; funding options; options for managing long-term risk 9.Case studies Vulnerable regions and types of settlement; experience with extremes and specific DRR strategies…

18 UNISDR support of IPCC Report Participation of developing country experts as authors Access to relevant DRR data and info –Coordinate ISDR Partners literature searches and reviews by topic –Contract tech organizations to build thematic bibliographies –Support completion and publication and peer- review of papers in key topics –Support the participation of staff members as authors –Disseminate and promote use of final Report

19 UNISDR support to negotiations and national implementation Support for adaptation planning and implementation Knowledge sharing: climate-risk info and know-how Developing partnerships and mobilizing resources Examples Participation of DRR advisors in national UNFCCC delegations, advocacy on negotiations text Highest level advocacy: UNSG, GP, parliamentarians DRR and CCA practitioners joint exercises Guidance notes on sector-specific adaptation Regional help desks for CCA-DRR strategy & funding Subregional assessments of risk info and capacities Pilot integrated national plans for CCA and DRR

20 What you can do for DRR-CCA integration--1 Provide literature for Special Report assessment: see Nominate and support experts for IPCC 5th Assessment Report & submit literature Generate and translate climate risk information and engage with users to ensure it can be applied Review domestic policies for DRR and CCA and encourage dialogue, joint programming Report climate change activities in Hyogo Framework implementation report & HFA Monitor Strengthen DRR national platforms with institutions working in climate change

21 What you can do for DRR-CCA integration 2 Ensure climate negotiators include DRR in negotiations text –Meet your counterpart; call often; share progress in DRR; review texts together Review policies for bi-lateral funding for DRR and adaptation to ensure harmonization Support developing countries (and economies in transition) in: –Developing CCA-DRR-development plans (per sector) –Implementing joint programming –Develop capacities jointly –Assessing existing and longer term risk in integrated fashion

22 Ban Ki Moon, UN SG, 29 September 2008 "We should not take longer… if we are slow to adapt to climate change, we risk making disasters even more catastrophic than they already are. We should build on the HFA and DRR awareness to protect vulnerable populations against climate change."