NO 2. WEDNESDAY 11 MAY 2016
Daily Adapt
4TH INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION CONFERENCE ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS
INDEX WEDNESDAY
4 - Introduction 10 - Plenary sessions 20 - Flying Reporters 22 - Tool Shed 24 - Launch of the Expertise HUB 26 - Themes and Issues 46 - Round Table 52 - Social media 57 - Colophon
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INTRODUCTION You're now reading the Daily Adapt. A visual and inspirational magazine of the Adaptation Futures 2016 conference.
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BUSINESS BREAKFAST For the early risers… Eight o’clock sharp in the Town Hall room on the 23rd floor. A delicious continental breakfast was served to the business community–and, of course, any other participant who stopped in. Everyone also enjoyed the view of the spire of the Laurens Church--the only building in this area that was not bombed in the Second World War.
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PLENARY SESSIONS The Adaptation Futures 2016 conference plenary kick-off. With about 1700 participants coming from over 100 different countries.
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MOBILE INDUSTRY HOLDS THE KEY TO FINANCIAL ACCESS Watch the video Presentation by Queen Máxima
A plenary session that starts off the day is quite normal at conferences—unless the session features Queen Máxima of the Netherlands as keynote speaker. The Queen gave an inspiring speech about climate change and access to financial services, and in particular the urgency of opening up financial services to those who have thus far been denied access to it. Queen Máxima took the podium in her capacity as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Advocate for Inclusive Finance for Development. She pointed out that worldwide 230 million people are affected by natural disasters caused by climate change. Financial inclusion, access to financial services, is vital in improving resilience both for individuals, households, communities and businesses, especially smallholder farmers and SME's, which are the backbone of any economy. Financial services can reduce their vulnerability. Today, two billion people are financially excluded. But there is one industry that shows broad potential to financial inclusion for these people—mobile telecommunications. In countries like Kenia, Tanzania and Uganda an app made it possible for the people to get solar energy. The panel discussion then started (see following pages). And this extraordinary plenary ended with the words of Princess Abze Djigma of Burkina Faso. “Woman in Burkina put their money together. We use it for projects. And the basis is trust. Trust. That is what we do, what everyone does in business. Without trust you do not do business. The Burkinabé Princess invited the Dutch queen to the meeting where she would launch an expertise centre.
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PANEL DISCUSSION Watch the video Panel Discussion
Several panel members applauded Queen Maxima’s call for inclusive finance for people most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. “This is key to the adaptation approach”, said Wim Kuijken. “The challenge lies in developing a long-term strategy—with all uncertainty that comes with it—while implementing short-term actions.” Marjeta Jager stressed the need for the privates sector and institutions “to share the burden. We need to go on hand in hand.” Paula Caballero argued that we need ecosystem- and community-based approaches to ensure people’s access to natural resources. “The poorest are suffering more; for them it’s a matter of survival”, observed Laurent Sédogo. “Traditional crops are no longer growing, and we need responses today." Feike Sijbesma had mixed feelings about discussing adaptation without mentioning mitigation. “It would be immoral”, he said, “if our collective failure on taking mitigation action became a business incentive for new companies.” Naoko Ishii discussed the need to the most vulnerable communities to cope. “In Africa, we are working with the smallholders and trying to understand what the best approach is for their crops and land.” When facilitator Vivienne Parry asked how to engage the private sector, Wim Kuijken replied with an example: “We try to make bankable projects and look for
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incentives for business. A riverbank that’s also a recreational area.” Sijbesma added: “The problem is not in the Netherlands or Germany. It is in Bangladesh and the horn of Africa. How do you make the business case for these regions?” Laurent Sédogo: “We need to find the kind of technologies that can be industrialised and brought to these local populations. A great example is solar panels: a great opportunity for business—and local communities will benefit enormously from access to electricity.” Panel: Naoko Ishii CEO of the Global Environment Facility, USA Laurent Sédogo Executive Director of the West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, Ghana Feike Sijbesma United Nations Framework Convention on CEO & Chairman of the Managing Board DSM, the Netherlands Paula Caballero Senior Director Natural Resources, The World Bank Marjeta Jager Deputy Director General Directorate-General International Cooperation and Development, European Commission Robert Glasser Special Representative of the UN SecretaryGeneral for Disaster Risk Reduction Wim Kuijken Delta Commissioner and Chair of the Supervisory Board of DNB, the central bank of the Netherlands
"The challenge lies in developing a long-term strategy—with all uncertainty that comes with it—while implementing short-term actions." Wim Kuijken
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@GerritHiemstra
@svrkprabhakar
@scnbath
#confAF2016 Question: a lot of civilians are willing to take adaptation measurements them selves. How can we mobilize them better?
Question #confAF2016 Her Majesty Maxima highlighted examples of success, how 2 make these reaching & helping the most vulnerable in DRR&CCA?
How can we ensure that power relations remain balanced in financial engagements with the most vulnerable? #confAF2016
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@EU2016NL FLYING REPORTERS Wherever you go in the corridors at the conference venue, you hear “next generation." The sixteen Flying Reporters, aged from 15 to 17, actually ARE this next generation. The project was initiated by the European Commission, one of the main hosts of Adaptation Futures 2016. When talking about the future, those who embody the future should be present, the EC stated.
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INSTAGRAM TAKEOVER! Tamarah Verhoog, Marin Mes, Aimee Chan and Sara Buurman of the Rotterdam International Secondary School (RISS) at the Wolfert van Borselen School, are all over the conference, working on their “Instagram takeover." Sara Buurman: “Of course we have heard about climate change. I had the feeling the world was panicking about the subject. It is reassuring to see that a lot of grown-ups are taking this topic seriously, and that they are willing to come together from all over the world to work on solutions.” Aimee Chan: “Our goal is to get kids our age involved so they can spread the word on climate adaptation.” Marin Mes: “It is not hard to involve people our age. We may not understand every scientific session, but researchers are more than willing to explain what they are doing in their own words. Our interviews are published on our own YouTube channel and on Periscope. And we publish our own pictures on Instagram. That way we can make the content available to our followers.” Tamarah Verhoog: “It is great that Queen Maxima is here. When we Instagram about her, my friends will know where I am at and what I’m doing.”
"It is reassuring to see that a lot of grownups are taking climate change seriously."
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TOOL SHED “CAS develops user-centred visualisation tools that translate complex data into visually attractive information. CAS helps governments, policy-makers and professionals to gain an understanding of local climate impacts and thus to make better-informed decisions.� Dr Hasse Goosen Director Climate Adaptation Services
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LAUNCH OF THE EXPERTISE HUB TO EMPOWER AND UPGRADE THE INFORMAL SECTOR “We empower local people in African countries, and make them aware of the importance of sustainable energy.” That’s how Princess Abze Djigma of Abzesolar opens the launch event for the Hub to Empower the Informal Sector. She has created a toolbox called Mama-Light. “It is made in a language that can be understood in every village. Electricity is crucial for development.” With the Hub, Abzesolar wants to build a bridge between the informal and the formal sectors.
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THEMES AND ISSUES There were 155 parallel sessions during the Adaptation Futures 2016 conference. Here you will find some of the highlights of the Practice sessions, Science-practice and Science sessions.
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CONNECTING ARCTIC RESEARCHERS AND STAKEHOLDERS FROM INDUSTRY There’s a phrase making the rounds in climatechange circles these days: “What happens in the Arctic doesn’t stay in the Arctic." The changes taking place there are already having a major impact around the world—so this region should be of major interest to everybody. A bit surprising, then, that attendance at this session was a bit on the light side. The session focused on connecting Arctic researchers and stakeholders from industry. How can an open, productive and respectful dialogue between both sides take place with a view to achieving mutual understanding and identifying new ways of working, and to ensuring economic and societal benefits? The Arctic is one of the regions where climate change is having the greatest. But it is also has high potential and huge stores of unexploited resources. Although activities in the Arctic are taking place at the national level, there is a strong international component. There is a lot of international attention and criticism considering resource management. Coco Smits, winner of an Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment award, and Chair of Young Royal Haskoning DHV, argued that it was important to formulate high-level take-away messages for industry stakeholders. Dmitry Yumashev, a post-doc at Erasmus University’s Project on Ice, Climate, Economics - Arctic Research on Change (ICE-ARC), has studied the regional and global socio-economic costs of Arctic change. Black-carbon emissions, he noted, will only increase as a result of the new Arctic shipping routes that are opening up. This black carbon will only intensify the effects of climate change. "In the establishment of the new shipping routes, clear ‘winners’ and ‘loser’ can be
identified", he said. For example, some European countries and China are amongst the winners by receiving great economic benefits from the new routes. On the other hand, the Arctic region is suffering from the ecological damage these new routes are inflicting.’
Keijo Salenius, Basecamp Oulanka, Finland "Besides the risks created by climate change, it is also opening up opportunities for tourism in the Arctic region. For example, the climate is becoming milder, in January the average temperature is only -30 degrees Celsius." Organised by: Annette Scheepstra Arctic Centre, University of Groningen, the Netherlands Chair: Annette Scheepstra University of Groningen, the Netherlands
"What is going on in the polar regions also determines what is going on in the Sahara."
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HOW TO ADAPT IN RURAL AREAS? Early on Wednesday morning, Dr Laurent Sédogo, former Minister of Agriculture in Burkina Faso and now Executive Director of the West African Science Service Centre on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, in Ghana, opened the session on rural livelihoods, which he chaired. In his opening remarks, Dr Sédogo stressed the importance of focusing on rural livelihoods. "Climate change and its effects on farming systems are impacting the livelihoods of local people significantly.” But Africa is not the only continent facing these kinds of problem. Russell Wise of the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) in Australia, gave an interesting presentation that asked, “How climate-compatible are livelihoodadaptation strategies and development programmes in rural Indonesia?” His research concludes that studied adaptation strategies are generally well-matched by current development programmes, but that there is certainly room for improvements. Diversification is a potential strategy for adaptation, when it comes to generating income and managing crops. In India, the number of different crops grown by individual households has decreased over the last decade. "This is very surprising, since crop diversification is thought of as a good for small farmers who want to adapt to climate change", says Andaleeb Rahman
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of the Indian Institute for Human Settlement. He went on to observe that the best adaptation solutions differ from one location to another. Crop diversification is therefore not one-size-fits-all solution to the problems rural areas are facing. For best results, crop diversification should be combined with supporting irrigation solutions. The presentations given during the session served as fodder for a lively discussion among participants, who hailed from rural areas in regions and countries around the world that have been affected by climate change. The session was thus a good example of how people can share knowledge, and showed that they are eager to learn from other countries that are facing with the same challenges and trying to adapt to changes that are happening now and that have yet to come. Chair: Laurent Sédogo West African Science Service Center on Climate Change and Adapted Land Use, Ghana
"When it comes to adaptation, the most important decision is to change." Laurent SĂŠdogo
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AN ADAPTATION ROLE FOR ACCOUNTANTS In the final round, a session took place that was quite different from most sessions here at the Adaptation Futures conference: it looked at the role of accountants. Adaptation has significant financial and economic components, and accounting skills can play a vital role. The role of accountants is an important and newly emerging factor in climate change. The session considered what contributions accountants and other financial professionals might make to the adaptation agenda so that it can realise its full potential. Jaqueline Birt of the University of Queensland stated that firms are starting to report more and more impairment expenses in their annual reports. "And firms have also been disclosing more information in relation to climate-change impairment." Organised by: Gordon Beal Research, Guidance and Support, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), Canada Maya Fischhoff Network for Business Sustainability, Canada
"We will need people who understand the financial as well as the environmental and human impact of climate change."
Elizabeth Atkinson University of Waterloo / Natural Resources Canada, Canada Chair: Gordon Beal Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada), Canada
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RESILIENT RISK MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES FOR CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WITHIN CITIES
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PATHWAYS TO RESILIENCY: A CO-CREATION WORKSHOP WITH EXPERTS FROM ROTTERDAM AND NEW YORK CITY
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"The next step in early warning systems is for practitioners to get a better idea of what to do in response to warnings. Too often, discussions of early-warning systems overlook practice. This gap between science and practice should be bridged." Andy Morse ADAPTATION FUTURES 2016
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EARLY-WARNING SYSTEMS IN PUBLIC HEALTH The small but crowded room immediately showed great interest in the subject. Climatic and environmental conditions form the basis for early-warning systems in public health. Climate change affects publichealth patterns. The spread of infectious diseases such as malaria is just one example. Early-warning systems can help improve and accelerate alert and publichealth-response capabilities, while also providing the evidence base for strategic action on public health. These systems can significantly enhance preparedness to fight emerging infectious diseases. Monitoring long-term trends in order to build systems adapted to global climate change, and not just meteorological conditions, remains a challenge for public-health practitioners. This session presented a number of different early-warning systems from around the world, and looked at the experiences gained, and the lessons learned, so far.
in the form of a map that shows only their country. An important issue that early-warning systems encounter is false alarms and failures in the model. A false alarm triggers an unnecessary response, while a failure means no action is taken when it in fact required. From a public-health perspective, the latter is of course the more difficult scenario to cope with, since lives could be at stake. Therefore, avoiding failures such as this is a top priority. Organised by: Alex Nickson Greater London Authority, United Kingdom Lykke Leonardsen City of Copenhagen, Denmark Chair: Alex Nickson Greater London Authority, United Kingdom
Andy Morse, Professor of Climate Impacts at the University of Liverpool, gave a talk on using seasonal forecasts to drive the development of early-warning systems for infectious diseases. He showed models that depict how malaria spreads. Such models do not give numbers as an outcome, but rather probability predictions, in categories, such as lower than and higher than average. Professor Morse explained that models of this kind must be readily understandable by decision-makers and other practitioners. For example, some users prefer to have a model
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CLIMATE CHANGE AS AN INNOVATION DRIVER
ADVANCING CITY ADAPTATION MONITORING, EVALUATION AND REPORTING
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ADAPTATION AS AN INNOVATION AND MARKET OPPORTUNITY
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BUILDING ON A RESILIENT FRESH-WATER SUPPLY With climate changing, fresh water of good quality is becoming one of the most critical natural resources. Both quantity and quality are under pressure. In order to develop a resilient fresh-water supply three questions must be answered. First: How do we develop resilience and be more careful with our use of fresh water? Second: What feasible measures and sound water-management principles can increase adaptive capacities? Finally: What sustainable agriculture techniques can reduce water needs and what is the role of communities and farmers in managing water? The session addressed these questions through different case studies from India, the Netherlands and Spain. The Indian case study showed how climate-resilient water management at the community level is realised, part of the “Where the Rain Falls” project. The goal of the project is that, by 2025, 3,000 local women and girls will be empowered to participate effectively in governance and will be more resilient to risks related to climate change. In practical terms, the project improved water infrastructure by building new water-infrastructure systems and restoring old ones. In the old situation, the women could access water wells located in the village only for 7 or 8 months each year. The rest of the time, they had to walk several kilometres to get to the nearest well. Aurélie Ceinos of CARE France reported
that, thanks to this programme, the woman can now access the wells in their village for longer: In the first year of the project, by one month more; in the second, by two. Besides improving water infrastructure, the project also pays attention to agriculture and forest management in order to improve the ability of the soil to retain moisture. "Although the local wells are eventually dried up, the surrounding land retains the water longer", explained Ceinos. "The land used to retain water for only one day, but the project has now increased this to four days." Organised by: Aurélie Ceinos Programming – Climate change Adaptation, CARE France, France José Miguel de Paz Instituto Valenciano Investigaciones AgrariasIVIA, Spain Steven Visser Delta Programme, Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands Chairs: Aurélie Ceinos CARE, France Steven Visser Delta Programme, Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands
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“Gender is important in allocating funds, because women are the agents of change.”
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MAKING CLIMATE FINANCE ACCESSIBLE TO WOMEN The Green Climate Fund is committed to a gender-sensitive approach, in order to ensure that climate finance reaches and empowers women to contribute to adaptation efforts. The history of adaptation finance is a long and tortured one, noted Anju Sharma, Director of Oxford Climate Policy. She reminds the attentive audience gathered in the small room: “There have been a lot of discussions about governance. The countries of the south, who are the ones meant to be receiving the money, used to have little say in how it was distributed. Over the years this gradually changed.” The Kyoto Protocol called for the creation of an adaptation fund. The aim was to enhance direct access on the part of national entities instead of multilateral entities such as the World Bank or the IMF. Sharma: “Sometimes the problem with allocating funds is not about governance, but about unrealistic plans that are committed to. And if a plan does qualify for funding, it is critical that it not be compromised by corruption, which is a big problem in a lot of developing countries.”
of Foreign Affairs, stressed that donor countries and agencies want to rule out any risks. “It is critical that there be no place for fraud, corruption or the misuse of funds for nefarious purposes such as terrorist activities. How can we take this into account AND get the money were it needs to be AND create progress and development? That is our big challenge.” For Waslander there is no question about who are the real drivers of the change that is needed to face the consequences of climate change. “Gender is important in allocating funds, because women are the real agents of change.” Organised by: Annelieke Douma Both ENDS, the Netherlands Zohra Moosa Mama Cash, the Netherlands Claudia Samcam Fondo Centroamericano de Mujeres (FCAM), Nicaragua Chair: Cindy Coltman Both ENDS, the Netherlands
Using existing social audit structures can help in tackle corruption, Sharma says. Jacob Waslander, Head of the Climate and Energy Division at the Dutch Ministry
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RISK REDUCTION? INVOLVE THE LOCAL COMMUNITIES It seems logical to make the link between adaptation to climate change and reducing the risk of disaster. The Paris agreement acknowledged as much, and now there is a formal link. The session in the Tokyo Room went deeper into the challenges involved in making these connections work, both on the local and national levels. “Bring the people into decision process”, pleaded Marcus Oxley from the Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction. “We need to understand local habits, understanding, cultures, and behaviour. When we look at all the agreements, there is a lot going on at the policy and legislative levels. But all of that can seem quite far removed from the lives of individuals. We tend to emphasise policies, and that’s important—but it should not come at the expense of a focus on culture, grass-roots organising, and people.” Part of the problem, as Oxley sees it, is an “implementation gap between political aspirations and local situations. Local people and processes are not included in decisionmaking. The reality on the ground does not get the attention that is needed." Nancy Saich from the European Investment Bank surprised the audience by indicating that it is not only in the public sector that the bank is offering financing: “We also finance projects through direct loans and via banks. We have been involved in adaptation projects for five years now, and
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systematic climate-risk assessment started in 2015. Most of the time we come into projects that are in a more-developed stage, but sometimes we are involved from the beginning.” She also noted that the bank tries to integrate an assessment of climate risks in all their projects. Markus Leitner of Environment Agency Austria offered a number of practical examples that illustrated how the Austrians pursue risk reduction in the early stages of project development. “We produced a guidance document to integrate impact assessments into infrastructure projects. That way, we can take measures during the design stage." One example: a new rail project where the risks of climate change are fully integrated into planning. Organised by: Mário Pulquério Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal Markus Leitner Environmental Impact Assessment and Climate Change, Environment Agency Austria, Austria Chair: European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action, Belgium
“Local people understand climate change, disasters and poverty in a holistic way.”
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NON-URBAN AREAS TO THE RESCUE TO REDUCE FLOOD RISK Topics on the use of ecosystems to help regions adapt to flooding and drought are hot—literally and figuratively. It was wall-to-wall people at the session on ecosystem services for climate adaptation—absolutely packed, hanging from the rafters. Marian Zanderssen, researcher at Aarhuus University in Denmark, pointed out the difficulties of using non-urban areas for flood control, to protect cities. “Northern Europe faces an increasingly wet climate. Water requires space and it knows no ownership boundaries. It might seem logical to see the use of the lands surrounding cities as a solution in flood protection, for instance for the storage of water. But in Denmark 60 percent of that land is owned by farmers. So we have to look into the best way to involve farmers and to use the land that is available to give the water the space it needs.”
"Water requires space and it knows no ownership boundaries."
Chair: Rebecca Shaw Stanford University and Environmental Defense Fund, USA
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ROUND TABLE High level Round Table discussions are organised on issues of crucial importance for adaptation to climate change. Seasoned practitioners, politicians and scientists will facilitate the debates, and will actively involve audiences.
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BUSINESS FOR ADAPTATION: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITIES Multinationals can be powerhouses of innovation.They can also play an important role in adapting to climate change. Today, seven business leaders met in the Town Hall room to discuss the possibilities for adaptation. Feike Sijbesma, CEO of Royal DSM: “Adaptation gives me mixed feelings. To me, mitigation should be key. It would be immoral if we leave our problems to the next generation. As a business we have to keep future-proofing our business. That is part of leading a successful company.” All panelists agreed on one thing: a world in which the climate is changing, demands a different type of leadership. As Christine Tørklep Meisingset of Norsk Gjenvinning, Norway’s leading environmental-services provider, observed, “We are lacking good data sets on damage and increasing costs, because of climate change. But reporting and disclosure of data are only part of this game. We need people who are courageous enough to look at trends and the bigger picture and who dare to put together broad visions.” Roger Steens, Director of Sustainability at Tata Steel Europe, agreed. For him, visionary leadership is key: “The knowledge of risks is a source of revenue for businesses. And knowing how to respond to those risks requires visionary leadership from everybody working together on risk assessment, not only within the businesses themselves.”
Sandeep Dadlani, President and Global Head of Manufacturing at Infosys, added: “What gives me hope is that adaptation is all about prediction. Advances in big data and artificial intelligence help us to predict and to adapt better. Having more information helps us improve our understanding of the phenomenon as a whole.” R&D, combined with historical and regional knowledge, gives companies innovative power. Still, the gap between scientific knowledge and business practice is not easily crossed. “There are various ways to bring science and business together, such as the EU 2020 projects”, says David Walker, Chief Development Officer at DNV GL Group. “Business needs to get access to the best minds, and we need solutions sooner rather than later.” Panel: Feike Sijbesma CEO & Chairman of the Managing Board DSM, the Netherlands Sandeep Dadlani Executive Vice President Infosys, India David Walker Chief Development Officer DNV GL Group, Norway Roger Steens Director Water Arcadis Europe, the Netherlands Frank Goossensen City of Ljubljana, Slovenia Christine Tørklep Meisingset Key Account Manager IBKA (part of the NG group), Norway
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MONEY NEVER COMES THROUGH THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE How to pursue adaptation, alleviate poverty and reduce inequalities, all at the same time? Money is the key. A lot of money is going into adaptation, and money is also what is needed to alleviate poverty. “There are two funders, and the panel is looking at the issue from very different perspectives”, says Andrea Chu, Corporate Partnerships Fellow at the Environmental Defense Fund in Boston, the United States. “There are people from civic society and local governments. They all agree that climate change aggravates already-existing inequalities, and that something needs to be done. But what I experienced was a little bit of a gap between the different worlds they work every day, as if ther was not always a good connection." Student Julia Thomaschki from Germany was very enthusiastic about the broad range of speakers. “I like the different levels and was struck by the speech by Princess Abze Djigma of Burkina Faso. Of course there is bound to be some overlap between some sessions, but this one gave me new insights. What I miss is the real practicalities of the solutions….” Ian Noble, an Independent Consultant on Adaptation to Climate Change and, before his retirement, Lead Climate Change Specialist at the World Bank, left the room before the end. “Honestly, the format is oriented too much towards listening. It’s
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billed as a town hall, which suggests more of a two-way street. Having said that, though, the content is good and the speakers are excellent—the range of topics is impressive. Not new for me, but there was one remark that hit the nail on the head: that money never comes through the ministry of finance. That’s a frustration that everyone feels.” Panel: Stéphane Hallegatte The World Bank, USA Pema Tenzin Gross National Happiness Commission, Bhutan Siti Bakar Makame Community Forsts International, Tanzania Aziza Akhmouch Head of the Water Governance Programme, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Marjeta Jager Deputy Director General Directorate-General International Cooperation and Development (DG DEVCO), European Commission
"Rich people and rich societies can benefit from reducing poverty."
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CLOSING THE ADAPTATION FINANCE GAP IN VULNERABLE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES Funds to support adaptation projects often remain untapped. How can countries—especially developing one—make more use of these funds and allocate them where they are most urgently needed? There is a widespread recognition of the need to increase the finance flows that will be necessary if we are to adapt to the effects of climate change. Despite welcome new finance commitments in Paris from governments and the private sector, there has to be a drastic change to reach the scale of the adaptation finance that is required. Adaptation Futures brings together representatives from international financial institutions, the governments of developing countries, and national institutions to discuss the current state of finance for adaptation, and explore some of the possible pathways to increasing adaptation finance after Paris. “In order to manage risk, you need to price risk”, says panel member James Close, Director of the Climate Change Group at the World Bank. “At the moment there is a shortage of good projects, not of money for adaptation. Take the greenbond market. Right now nine billion dollars has been put up for green bonds—and that money is looking for good projects.” Mahamat Assayouti, Senior Climate Change Officer at the African Development Bank, points to the unused possibilities for African rural municipalities. “We have a commitment to add five billion US dollar every year for climate adaptation. We don’t want to spend this money ourselves. Local authorities have to be part of the solution. They have access to green bonds. Mayors and people running the municipal offices can be more proactive and dynamic. African countries still rely on institutions such as the
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World Bank. They are not aware enough of what resources are out there.”
Panel: Anne Olhoff DTU-UNEP, to present the Adaptation Finance Gap Report Mahamat Assayouti African Development Bank James Close The World Bank Orsalia Kalantzopoulus Europa Re Giza Gaspar Martins former LDC Chair Sumaya Zakieldeen Sudan (LDC lead for adaptation) Diane McFadzien the Cook Islands (SPREP) (tbc)
“There is a shortage of good projects, not necessarily of money for adaptation.”
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SOCIAL MEDIA At this moment (18:47) we've already reached over 1.700.000 people with our hashtag #confAF2016
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@Truesabina
@lmkwak
@lunaflyingrep
#confAF2016 session on mega cities quote from London: risk management would be about helping people help themselves, no more calling 911
Laura Kwak Retweeted UNESCO-IHE Really enjoyed the conference today, hope my #comms colleagues do tomorrow as well. #confAF2016
Thank you for Her Majesty Queen Maxima for her inspirational speech! #confAF2016
@Climate actionMW
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@katharine_v
H.R.H. Princess Abze Djigma we need dignity not charity. Private sector must create value at grassroots #confAF2016
@UNEP launches #Adaptation Finance Gap report 2016 #confAF2016 @ibrahimthiaw @ UNEPDTU http:// drustage.unep.org/ adaptationgapreport/2016
@Schouten Marco
@Stephen Woroniec
@Melanie Flynn88
#confAF2016 excellent session with knowledgeable panel on the Green Utilitiy Network. @vitens @ EvidesWaterbedr
How do we ensure #adaptation resources reach the most vulnerable people? #confAF2016 @ Cordaid
Busy day of adaptation implementation, participatory scenarios in the Arctic & the benefits of M&E. Bring on tomorrow! #confAF2016
We appreciate the conference #confAF2016 climate change and health - needs to raise awareness about it
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Read the Daily Adapt of Tuesday with highlights from plenary speakers such as Christiana Figueres and Roger Pulwarty, sessions and special events. ADAPTATION FUTURES 2016
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ADAPTATION FUTURES 2016
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COLOPHON
Publication Adaptation Futures 2016 www.adaptationfutures2016.org Location WTC Rotterdam The Netherlands Text Synergos Communicatie Graphic design & Photography Visuele Notulen Twitter @confAF2016
ROTTERDAM THE NETHERLANDS 10 - 13 MAY 2016
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HOSTS OF THE CONFERENCE