Daily adapt no 1. Tuesday 10 may 2016

NO 1. TUESDAY 10 MAY 2016

Daily Adapt

4TH INTERNATIONAL CLIMATE CHANGE ADAPTATION CONFERENCE ROTTERDAM, THE NETHERLANDS

INDEX TUESDAY

4 - Introduction 8 - Plenary sessions 24 - Quote from the Expo Floor

26 - Special events 32 - Themes and Issues 52 - Round Table 56 - Social media 59 - 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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PLENARY SESSIONS The Adaptation Futures 2016 conference plenary kick-off. With about 1700 participants coming from over 100 different countries.

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THE LARGEST-EVER CONFERENCE ON ADAPTING TO CLIMATE CHANGE Watch the video Welcome by the hosts

“You are the best and the brightest—the crème de la crème.” That’s how Vivienne Parry welcomed about 1,700 attendees from over 95 countries to Adaptation Futures 2016, the biggest conference ever held on adapting to climate change.

The stakes could not be higher, and so it is with the ambitions of the conference, and the standards that have been set.

Thus, of more than 1,100 abstracts and 200 session proposals, 155 were selected.

“We are already a trending topic on Twitter in Holland—and we want this to go worldwide!” added Parry.

In her address, Dutch Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen also focused on the big picture: “Responding to big changes is one thing”, she said. “But we have to stay ahead… make economies and countries resilient. For every dollar we spend on prevention, we save seven on clearing the debris after a disaster.”

Schultz van Haegen noted that, thanks to the Paris agreement, adaptation is high on the agenda. But she also called for concrete results. “We need action. We need thinkers and doers. Practical solutions.” She gave an example of a floating school in a Nigerian lagoon. “The school moves with the changes in the tide, and makes education possible for hundreds of children.” Schultz van Haegen closed with a challenge: “With adaptation, we need to combine the love of science with the recklessness of the entrepreneur.”

Robert-Jan Smits, Director-General of Research and Innovation at the European Commission, noted that storms and hurricanes not only wreak destruction but cost 250 to 300 billion dollars annually. “By 2050 this will be trillions." Like other speakers, he also focused on the practical: “We need solutions to move forward” such as “new adaptation partnerships between science, businesses and governments—and this meeting gives us possibilities.”

Christiana Figueres, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC, who today was made an Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau, gave a powerful speech that focused on the women and men who want to have a future for their children. “That is where we need to make a difference. The question we need to wake up with every morning is: Have we made the lives of these people any more livable?

Because that is what adaptation is about.”

Roger Pulwarty was the last speaker of the morning session: “Stop thinking about what might happen, and look at what is happening! We risk underestimating the consequences of climate change. Everything the people in this room are doing can make a difference. The question is not “What do we need to do?” It is “What are we doing?”

Melanie Schultz van Haegen Minister of Infrastructure and the Environment, the Netherlands Robert-Jan Smits Director-General for Research and Innovation, European Commission Ibrahim Thiaw Deputy Executive Director, United Nations Environment Programme

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"We need solutions to move forward."

Robert-Jan Smits

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"We need nature-based solutions for adaptation. The task is huge, but the rewards are bigger."

Ibrahim Thiaw

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ADAPTATION IS ABOUT PEOPLE Watch the video Presentation by Christiana Figueres

This morning, Christiana Figueres, Secretary of the UNFCCC, was made an Officer in the Order of Oranje Nassau. Dutch Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen presented the honour. Figueres wore the ribbon and medal with some pride, and said a few words to those gathered.

“I want to thank each and every one of you, because you are here, brave enough to take up the challenge of adapting to climate change. We truly have all the representatives of all the sectors needed to meet the responsibilities we all share.”

Figueres walked around the ceremonial chair, on which she had sat to receive the honour. She noted wryly, “These things are not made for short people.”

“We can think and act at the same time at three levels. The first one is the global level.

The Paris agreement ties the adaptation goal to the temperature goals. It is finally acknowledged that there is a relationship between concentrations in the atmosphere, and that adaptive actions are needed.

Scientists, close your ears – I’m going to use the figures in an irresponsible way."

Figueres takes us through the history of emissions and concludes that we have only 600 gigatonnes left if we want to get to a 1.5-degrees rise temperature. And ADAPTATION FUTURES 2016

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this can be seen as a threat, “especially to developing countries. I’ve written a letter to the science community to swallow an alarm clock. We are going to make a difference in the next five years. We have to change radically in all of what we are doing.”

The second level is national and subnational. “The most crucial, and the closest to my heart, is the local level—that is, the individual, personal, human level. This is where it should happen. Adaptation cannot be technology-centred. It is about the quality of life!”

“As you go from meeting to meeting, think of two women, and a teenage girl: of Fatoo, a single mother with three children whose home was washed away by the floods of 2009, and who is still wondering why. Think of Maharashta, a pregnant women who has suffered in the droughts in India. And think of Naome, a 15-year-old girl who cannot drink the water because of the high levels of salt it now contains. Think about them as individuals. Because there we have to make a difference.”

The silence in the room is enormous.

Figueres concludes: “Are we making the life of these women and girls any easier? That’s the question we have to ask ourselves every morning.”

"I want to thank each and every one of you, because you are here, brave enough to take up the challenge of adapting to climate change."

Christiana Figueres

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ARE WE DOING THE RIGHT THING? Watch the video Presentation by Roger Pulwarty

for the future.” He shows us a picture of a Californian district, bordering the desert.

“Why do people always return to places at risk?”

“How adaptive are we?” asks Roger Pulwarty, referring to extremes and the role of science. “And are we doing the right thing? Instead of rushing, we should think more. If we aren’t careful we will end up where we are going – it is a Chinese saying."

Roger Pulwarty is a scientist and a practitioner. He is director of the National Integrated Drought Information System, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA. He is professor at the University of Colorado in Boulder “where I still live.” He comes from a village of only 400 people.

“Everybody is embedded in own traditions and in lessons we have learned over time.

Our approach to science is: are we doing the right thing? Instead of rushing to do anything at all. If we aren’t careful we will end up where we are going. Stop thinking about what might happen and look at what is happening! It’s going on right now. We are at risk of underestimating the consequences of climate change.”

"When you educate a woman, you educate a village. When you educate a man, you just educate him."

“The change is not only in climate,” he states. “It’s the whole world that is changing.

And talking about the future, we show the past and continuously make changes

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PANEL DISCUSSION Watch the video Panel Discussion

The second part of the plenary session today was filled with an interesting panel discussion on the challenges ahead of us.

The panel consisted of Christiana Figueres, Roger Pulwarty, Debra Roberts (eThekwini Municipality Durban, South Africa; IPCC Working Group 2), John Firth (Acclimatise, United Kingdom) and Mark Watts (C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, USA). Questions from the audience came in through Twitter and directly from the audience.

How to inspire next generations? Figueres states that this challenge has two sides. “We are the first generation that understands climate change and have the responsibility to turn the boat around.

The next generation is the first to see the environment completely changed and thus able to understand the changes.

"But this transformation will bring new opportunities." This generation also has a huge responsibility, but combined with huge opportunities. The Flying Reporters are representatives of the next generation in today’s audience. Sixteen students from Wolfert Bilingual School will be holding interviews throughout the conference.

One of the students says that although he is attending the conference on different grounds than the rest of the audience, he wants to make a better world for himself and the next generation. "This is the same you are doing."

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Firth says that Public Private Partnerships (PPP) can help the implementation of adaptation by showing challenges as good business cases. "If you cannot outline the business case there will be no adaptation."

PPP is an interesting financial product and all understand the individual risk which is looked after together. "The way to attract businesses is to translate climate science to dollars." According to Figueres however, young people demand different values from companies they want to work for. "The new PPP will stand for Profit, People, Planet."

Debra Roberts eThekwini Municipality, Durban, South Africa, and IPCC Working Group II John Firth Acclimatise, United Kingdom Christiana Figueres United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Roger Pulwarty National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), USA Mark Watts C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group, USA

"If you cannot outline the business case there will be no adaptation."

Christiana Figueres

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@vastumandala

@rjtkleinÂ

@wjgoossen

Q to Mark:How to tackle the challnges posed by CC where it could not find the place in the cities documents of devlping nation? #confAF2016

Q to Roger Pulwarty: Is climate adaptation research still a priority?

Don't we already know enough to inform effective action? #confAF2016

#confAF2016 Plenary Question: How to mainstream climate adaptation (& mitigation) in local action? What should have highest priority?

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QUOTE FROM THE EXPO FLOOR “I am here to learn about projects worldwide, and to hear from other countries what they need. And I want to stress that, from my perspective, we need nature and wetlands if we want to work on water management effectively. We can no longer rely solely on rigid, inflexible dikes and dams.�

Pieter van Eijk Program Head, Wetlands International

SPECIAL EVENTS Here you will find some special events, announcements and press events.

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LAUNCH OF UNEP ADAPTATION FINANCE GAP REPORT

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OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF ERA4CS RESEARCH PROGRAMME BY JPI At exactly one o’clock the expo floor was room for the official launch of the ERA4CS programme by the Joint Programme Initiative (JPI).

This launch gives the official start to submit research proposals.

In the European Climate Research Network 45 European partner organisations are gathered from 18 countries. With this initiative European countries coordinate their climate research to inform and enable the transition to a low emission and climate resilient society in line with Europe’s long-term climate policy objectives. ERA4CS is financed by member states with a 33% contribution by the EU framework programme Horizon 2020. The ERA4CS makes 72 million US$ available for research on climate services. Robbert-Jan Smits, EU Commission’s Director General for Research and Innovation, congratulated JPI on the job. "Organising this call is a sign of the commitment of all the partners involved. Keep up the good work."

LAUNCH OF THE GLOBAL BENCHMARK REPORT SUSTAINABLE CITIES INDEX WATER Launch of the first Sustainable Cities Index Water by Arcadis, a study of 50 major global cities by their water sustainability, measuring how effective they are in terms of resiliency, efficiency and quality.

During this festive gathering Arcadis revealed the results of this global research. Mr Henk Ovink, Special Envoy for International Water Affairs at Kingdom of the Netherlands received the official first copy of this research from Frank Goossensen, European Director Water at Arcadis.

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LAUNCH DELTA COALITION Twelve countries have declared that they will cooperate in the new Delta Coalition that was launched yesterday. Ministers from Japan, Egypt, Bangladesh, Mozambique and South Korea attended the launch, along with Dutch Environment Minister Melanie Schultz van Haegen, who was kind enough to talk to Adaptation Daily AD: What is the why of the Delta Coalition?

“We need special international attention for the world’s deltas. No fewer than 40 percent of the world’s population lives in these areas, which in many ways are very attractive but which are also becoming increasingly vulnerable. The Delta Coalition declaration focuses on how we can work together in practical ways. I’m proud that the Dutch have taken this initiative: we have great engineers and technologists, so we want to share their knowledge-but also learn from others in the Coalition. When it comes to adaptation it is often the local engineers who can make strong contributions, because they are the ones actually implementing the projects on the ground.”

AD: Does the Coalition have a set agenda?

“The member countries in the Coalition will meet at least twice a year at events such as Adaptation Futures 2016. Now, there is no fixed budget, and no fixed timetable. The declaration’s goals are to exchange know-how and to cooperate at a practical level on drawing up and carrying out adaptation plans.”

AD: “We need to make sure that deltacities become resilient in the face of both flooding and drought. Coalition members will be working to raise awareness of the significant problems they are facing. Now, we all know that long-term solutions are not very sexy. All the more reason for these countries to get international support for the aims of today’s Declaration. We not only want support from the water and environment ministers: we want to convince the finance ministers to invest. And of course we are open to more countries. The more the merrier.”

Delta Coalition member countries: The Netherlands, Colombia, Japan, South Korea, Mozambique, Myanmar, Philippines, France, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Egypt. The first chair are the Netherlands.

Next up: Bangladesh.

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"Long term solutions such as adaptation to climate change are not sexy.

That’s why we need to raise international awareness even more."

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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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LOSS AND DAMAGE Climate change has already led to extreme weather events such as cyclones and floods—and it will continue to do so. Now, when we speak of these terrible and momentous events, we often speak of “loss” and “damage." However, neither of these terms means exactly the same thing to everyone. Laurens Bouwer of Deltares defines damage as physical damage to assets like infrastructure and buildings and losses as loss of human lives.

From a policy standpoint, loss and damage are, however, very controversial. There is no official definition of either term, says Rachel James of the Oxford University. This can cause researchers quite some difficulties. So work is being done in order to clarify these terms for future research.

"Mitigation and adaptation can help prevent some, but not all loss and damage."

Reinhard Mechler, Thomas Schinko International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) / Vienna University of Economics and Business/ University of Graz, Austria Laurens Bouwer Deltares, the Netherlands Swenja Surminski London School of Economics (LSE), United Kingdom Rachel James University of Oxford, United Kingdom Reinhard Mechler International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), Austria

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DROUGHT CONDITIONS AS A CAUSE OF CONFLICTS OVER WATER In a room packed with people form several different continents, Adaptation Futures hosted a session on drought conditions as a cause of conflicts over water. The African lake Chad is located in a border region.

The Lake is drying up, and has shrunk significantly over the last 60 years. The drought is leading to conflicts over access to water between groups such as farmers, freshwater fishermen, and pastoralists. This is a clear example of how consequences of climate change can change the balance between different groups who are depending on the same source of fresh water.

Chair: Nigel Arnell University of Reading, United Kingdom Roland Schulze University of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

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"The Lake is drying up, and has shrunk significantly over the last 60 years."

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MEASURING AND ENHANCING RESILIENCE

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TOOLS AND APPROACHES TO ASSESS DISASTER REDUCTION STRATEGIES

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ADAPTATION IS ABOUT AMBITION Adaptation needs to be fully incorporated into urban development—that was a key them in this session, which offered a wide variety of approaches to mainstreaming adaptation to climate change, so that it can take hold with key decision-makers and be fully integrated into project planning.

Phetmano Phannavong of the District of Columbia Department of the Environment explained how the city of Washington, DC, has been working to make this happen with the Silver Jackets project. “It is hard to explain how serious the risk of flooding is, since Washington is not hit as often as some hurricane-prone areas are. However, our biggest challenge was not the lacking of funding for programmes, but the lack of coordination and collaboration. What we are aiming for with this project is to create unity: We all see the same challenges and we are all address the same problems, so let’s wear the same colour: silver jackets.”

The Silver Jackets project was set up in 2014, and now academics, and more than 30 regional, federal, and local agencies, including in Washington, DC, have joined forces under its banner. “We want these participants to talk to each other and build projects together.” DC Silver Jackets uses available resources and opportunities within each member agency to address common issues. It bridges the gaps between practitioners, subject-matter experts, decision-makers, and policy-makers. As Mr

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Phannavong sees it, the project can serve as a model for other initiatives that have no funding and multiple agents.

Organised by: Chantal Oudkerk Pool City of Rotterdam, the Netherlands Mzukisi ka-Gwata, City of Johannesburg, South Africa Moderator: Mandy Ikert C40 Climate Leadership Group, USA

"It is not about convincing others.

We need to find shared desires."

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DIRECT ACCESS TO ADAPTATION FUNDING The Adaptation Fund enables countries to break free from reliance on the usual international lending institutions. It helps them to manage funds for adaptation projects. Twenty countries have successfully done so. Daouda Ndiaye is working for the Board of the Adaptation Fund in Senegal: “In 2013 the carbon market collapsed, so funds from that market were no longer available for developing countries to fund adaptation projects.

With the Adaptation Fund we have received a little bit less than 500 million dollar for projects.

We focus on the most vulnerable and are supporting projects in Africa, South America and Asia. There are at least 150 countries that qualify to apply for funds. The program helps to get high-quality projects funded and to share lessons and experiences.”

"We are working towards climateconscious green financing."

B. Suri Babu from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development India: “We cannot have one solution for the challenges the country faces because of climate change.

We need a tailor-made solution per region, like climate-proofing of watersheds, mangrove conservation and climate-smart hill agriculture.

We are working toward climate-conscious green financing for various projects.”

Chair: Mikko Ollikainen Adaptation Fund Board Secretariat, USA

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EXPLORING THE POTENTIAL OF ECOSYSTEM-BASED APPROACHES Nature-based solutions have been gaining increased relevance as ways to adapt to climate change and decrease the risk of natural hazards. Work needs to be done to bring ecosystem-based adaptation and disaster-risk reduction closer together.

Fabrice G. Renaud of UNU-EHS in Germany: “For eco-based disaster risk reduction, you need to have the right incentives for the communities who are or stand to be affected, as well as for governments. You need people who understand both ecology and communities.”

Organised by: Mário Pulqué & Tânia Salvaterra Faculdade de Ciencias da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal Karin Allenbach Mila Lomarda, University of Geneva, Switzerland Chair: Horst Korn Federal Agency for Nature Conservation, Germany

"Ecosystems are vulnerable to collapse.

The ways ecosystems can help us adapt are not endless."

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UNDERSTANDING ADAPTATION IN THE ARCTIC Populations living in or near to Arctic Circle have already started adapting to climate change.

These adaptations may seem small, but they are hugely significant in the context of day-to-day lives. Researchers from McGill University in Canada discussed the results of their studies in a session on Adaptation in the Arctic.

In interviews the researchers conducted, local women said they can no longer pick blueberries locally, because the plants don’t grow nearby anymore. They must now trek a long way out of town, so they don’t lose the connection with nature. Hunting practices have changed as well.

The migration routes animals take have changed, and hunting routes have changed with them.

Hunting seals has been replaced in several communities by hunting caribou. Polar bears are migrating on land more and more, instead of staying on the sea ice, and this has even caused cultural changes, with outside festivities having to be shifted indoors.

Chair: James Ford McGill University, Canada

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"These adaptations may seem small, but they are huge in a day-to-day human live."

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TRAIN LOCAL FARMERS TO DEVELOP CLIMATE CHANGE RESILIENT CROPS Climate change threatens food security and food diversity. Local conditions are changing, and drought is spreading over large areas of the world. The five-year programme “Sowing Diversity Equals Harvesting Security” (SD=HD) enables local people to manage biodiversity in the context of adapting to climate change. This is achieved by educating local farmers in field schools. A hundred field schools have already been set up in five countries: Viet Nam, Laos, Myanmar, Peru and Zimbabwe. The programme also focuses on ensuring women’s participation.

In Zimbabwe, agricultural land is drought-stricken because of a particularly strong El Niño. Four million people are vulnerable to food insecurity.

Farmers in Zimbabwe participate in activities such as seed fairs, where they exchange seeds in order to grow a wide range of crops in order to adapt to changing climate conditions.

Andrew Mushita of the Community Technology Development Trust in Zimbabwe says that, among other things, the programme helps let the world know about the experiences of local farmers.

Around 70% of the project’s work takes place in low potential areas for agriculture where the need is highest. But the high potential areas are not excluded. Bert Visser of the University of Wageningen says, in these areas we can also successfully improve agriculture and contribute to feed the world."

Chair: Bert Visser Wageningen UR, the Netherlands

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"Sowing Diversity equals Harvesting Security, Oxfam Novib, the Netherlands: Farmer field schools work only when they have an immediate impact on the lives of farmers, especially women.

Therefore, the programme makes sure that the crops are really relevant to the farmers. This is crucial."

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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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NATURE BASED-SOLUTIONS IN CITIES The room on the 23rd floor is slowly filling up. At four o’clock 120 people attend the meeting on how cities can use naturebased solutions to cope with climate change.

preserve nature, and to link this goal with urban development. We have carried out more than 1,700 projects over the past nine years, all in line with the vision ‘Ljubljana 2025.’ That’s the year by which we want our city to be fully sustainable.”

Moderator Holger Obrecht from ICLEI asks fellow moderator Birgit Georgi from the European Environmental Agency about her challenges. She refers to the Netherlands as “the most protected country in the world. But building more dikes and maintaining them—what are the costs? And how high can you go with dikes? Can we afford this approach in the mid- to long term?”

Also lending his insights on the panel: Rotterdam Deputy Mayor Pex Langenberg, who noted that “in Rotterdam water comes from four sides." And Cynthia Rosenzweig, head of the Climate Change Group at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies, and Co-Director of the Urban Climate Change Research Network, observed, “We can learn how nature adapts to climate change.

Ecosystems are also changing.”

Later in the session, Henk Ovink notes that a solution that may work for one city will not always work for another. “We have to learn from each other, to collaborate. There is no one-sizefits-all solution.” Ovink is the Special Envoy of the Netherlands for International Water Affairs.

“It is a specially created function because the Netherlands—we are water.”

Cedric Grant is Deputy Mayor of New Orleans and is clear about nature-based solutions: “Like the Mirabeau Water Gardens. This is a 25-acre site with a terraced wetlands-filtration system that can store about 1.23 million cubic feet of storm water."

Kwadwo Yeboah is Metropolitan Director of Town Planning in Accra, Ghana. He reports that there is an “on-going restoration of the Korle Lagoon."

Accra needs to adapt rapidly because “the biggest threat is flooding – and we have already lost people to floods.”

Panel: Pex Langenberg Deputy Mayor and Alderman for Sustainability, Mobility, Culture at City of Rotterdam, the Netherlands Kwadwo Yeboah Metropolitan Director of Town Planning, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana Cedric Grant Deputy Mayor of New Orleans, USA Teng Chye Khoo Executive Director of the Centre for Liveable Cities, Singapore (tbc) Kristina Ina Novak City of Ljubljana, Slovenia

City Councillor Kristina Ina Novak of Ljubljana, Slovenia, is proud the city is a European Green Capital for 2016. “Our goal is to protect and

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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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@AmarGuriro

@NeilAdger

@c40cities

Very techinical sessions buy most interesting too. #confAF2016 #adaptationpays

Sad to be missing Rotterdam #confAF2016

@confAF2016 will help make sure that #cities are resilient, inclusive & liveable places in our increasingly urbanized world #confAF2016

@jasedwar

@AnnaBunce

@richard_iea

I am following tweets from the opening day of #confAF2016 and wishing I could be there!

Today is #CensusDay in #Canada. Today at #confAF2016 I'm being reminded just how important #census data is for important for #adaptation

Great presentation by Patrick Pringle @UKCIP on engaging with business @confAF2016 @IEA #confAF2016

@henryflyingrep

@MarkWatts40

@arnoudmolenaar

About to watch a session about floods experiences & planning, excited to learn something new! #confAF2016

4 years to peak emissions: @CFigueres asks Adaptation Futures delegates to swallow an alarm clock #confAF2016

#confAF2016 #proud R'dam nr1! @Arcadis Global Water index @RdamPartners @ResilientRdam @100ResCities @ RDCRotterdam

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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

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HOSTS OF THE CONFERENCE