1 Reducing Climate-Related Disasters and Adapting to Climate Change Meeting of European National Platforms and HFA Focal Points Paris, April 2008 UN International Strategy for Disaster Reduction

2 Overview of the problem Disasters affect millions, cause big losses, hinder the achievement of MDGs Key issue is human vulnerability, root causes of risk are social and economic Main problem is awareness and political commitment – risk is not well factored in Knowledge, tools and policy frameworks are readily available Climate change makes a bad situation worse, adds to the urgency

3 Mounting evidence - heatwaves, coldwaves, loss of glaciers and polar ice, record cyclone numbers 4th IPCC Assessment: expect temperature increases, sea level rise and more intense rainfall and drought Vulnerable areas: Africa, mega-deltas of Asia, small island states, Europe increase in temperature, floods Record number of humanitarian Flash Appeals in 2007 (15) – most are for climate events A more extreme climate will expose and hurt the most vulnerable Climate change will increase disaster risks

4 Bali Action Plan: Options for Reducing Disaster Risks Call for enhanced action on adaptation, including: Risk management and risk reduction strategies, including risk sharing and transfer mechanisms such as insurance; 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 Key recommendations for national action 1.Develop national mechanisms to link and coordinate CC adaptation and disaster risk reduction policies 2.Conduct a baseline assessment on the status of disaster risk reduction and related CC adaptation efforts in the country and undertake climate risk assessments 3.Prepare CC adaptation plans drawing on the Hyogo Framework

5 Steps to reduce risk of climate-related hazards Reduce greenhouse gas emissions! (CC mitigation) Enhance close relationship between CC and DRR focal points. Forge coherent approaches to CC adaptation and DRR Make CC adaptation a fundamental pillar of any post-2012 agreement Ensure that risk reduction and risk management approaches (HFA) are core elements of CC adaptation Establish mechanisms to provide sufficient funding for adaptation and risk reduction Take immediate action to implement CC adaptation and risk reduction in vulnerable countries in the period Use the ISDR system to boost efforts to promote risk reduction management Make risk a central issue in development policy and programmes

6 Key steps to reduce risk of climate-related disasters Europe: Engagement at the EU/EC Green Paper on climate change adaptation. National Platforms have identified Climate Change as one of the possible area of coordinated efforts in Europe to highlight DRR issues; A number of key meetings are taking place in Europe.

7 Main events in 2008 for pursuing disaster risk reduction agenda Twenty-eighth sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies, 2-13 June, Bonn, Germany Thirty-fourth G-8 Summit, 7-9 July, Hokkaido, Japan International Disaster Risk Conference, 27 Aug – 1 Sep, Davos, Switzerland 29th session of IPCC, 1-4 Sep, Geneva, Switzerland UN Climate Conference, COP 14, 1-12 Dec, Poznañ, Poland COP in Copenhagen in Dec, 2009