Coverage of Selected Side Events at the Marrakech Climate Change Conference - November 2016

Moderated by Junichi Fujino, NIES, this side event considered city climate change action plans and city-to-city collaboration through the Joint Crediting Mechanism (JCM) and utilization of the Asia-Pacific Integrated Model (AIM).

Opening the session, Ho Chin Siong, University of Technology Malaysia, and Yoshihiro Mizutani, Ministry of the Environment, Japan, introduced the discussion on the feasibility and implementation of low carbon development projects in Asia, particularly in cities.

Ranping Song, World Resources Institute (WRI), suggested that successful implementation of NDCs include commitments across sectors and from non-state actors, who engage in cooperative actions. Providing several examples, he highlighted that over 1,700 cities have joined the Global Covenant of Mayors.

Mizutani called cities “essential non-state actors to tackle climate change” and identified city-to-city collaboration in the Asian region as a useful tool to roll out low carbon technology via the JCM.

Describing a memorandum of understanding between the Governments of Japan and Viet Nam to support low carbon development, Nguyen Van Huy, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, Viet Nam, said cities play an important role in implementing the NDCs, and highlighted a partnership between Osaka, Japan, and Ho Chi Minh City, Viet Nam. 

Datuk Hj. Sahrom bin Ujang, Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Malaysia, presented the Kuala Lumpur Low Carbon Society 2030 Blueprint, which addresses, inter alia: transportation, including rail, bike and pedestrian systems; infrastructure and digital technology; energy, including a focus on addressing energy efficiency and public transportation; and open green spaces.

Ho Chin Siong asked how to move from planning to implementation of the NDCs, and called for urban policy and design to be backed by science. Recognizing that while cities are significant emitters of greenhouse gases (GHGs), he underscored that they need to also remain competitive and serve as engines of growth, and urged for decoupling carbon emissions and economic growth. 

Calling for a holistic approach and new research focused on societal engagement, Boyd Dionysius Joeman, Iskandar Regional Development Authority, Malaysia, presented a green economic guideline to support businesses in transitioning to low carbon development.

The ensuing discussion addressed, inter alia: the citizens' climate pledge; how to engage the private sector, including architects and planners, in low carbon city development; the role of education; and science-based target setting.

This side event, moderated by Trevor Thompson, Grenada, addressed the work of the NAP Global Network and how it has contributed to effective NAP processes through sustained peer learning, coordinated bilateral support and targeted technical assistance.

Frank Fass-Metz, Germany, provided opening remarks, noting that the NAP Global Network is becoming renowned for providing support and being an information leader in NAP processes. He stressed that the Network will also be beneficial for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) implementation, underscoring increased bilateral interest for supporting the Network.

Hayley Price-Kelly, IISD and NAP Global Network Coordinator, outlined the work, activities and results of the Network. She said that it aims to facilitate sustained peer learning and exchange on challenges and opportunities associated with NAP processes, support national-level action and enhance bilateral support for adaptation.

Martina Duncan, Grenada, provided an overview of the NAP process and the support provided by the Network. She said lessons learned include that: prioritization is key; timeframes must be realistic and manageable; NAP processes must have ownership outside of environment departments; NAPs should be linked to national planning; NAPs can be used to approach donors; resource mobilization needs to be a key pillar of NAPs; and political incentives should be created for mainstreaming.

Price-Kelly then moderated a panel discussion. John Furlow, US Agency for International Development (USAID), stated that the Network has informed US approaches on adaptation, connected non-climate programmes with NAP processes and formed closer connections with other bilateral donors and development agencies.

Laureta Dibra, Albania, said the Albanian NAP process allowed them to understand that national adaptation planning is a long-term process involving different sectors across different levels. She noted that the NAP process aided in identifying national climate risks, and that they are now working on developing a financing strategy.

During the ensuing discussion, participants discussed how the Grenada NAP process aligns with NDCs; approaches to prioritize funding; engaging the private sector; and measuring the success of capacity building.

This side event, moderated by Pablo Suarez, Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, focused on the NWP, which contributes to advancing adaptation action through knowledge in the post-Paris regime in order to scale up adaptation at all levels, with a focus on developing countries. Activities under the NWP involve close collaboration with a network of over 320 organizations working on adaptation all over the world. The NWP provides knowledge support to Parties, as well as to the Adaptation Committee and the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) Expert Group (LEG). The NWP also facilitates science-policy-practice collaboration in closing adaptation knowledge gaps, synthesizes and disseminates information and knowledge on adaptation, and fosters learning to boost adaptation actions, including through the Adaptation knowledge portal.

Carlos Fuller, Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) Chair, underscored that the 10th Focal Point Forum on health and adaptation provides an excellent opportunity for policy makers, researchers, scientific communities, practitioners and financial institutions, not just to exchange actions that they are engaged in, but to identify areas of strategic collaboration in order to close critical gaps that will help inform adaptation actions addressing the topic of health.

Underscoring the importance of innovation, Suarez explained the interactive part of the Forum, noting the expectations, namely to gain a shared understanding of the activities undertaken with respect to health, and to discuss new actions.

Diarmid Campbell-Lendrum, World Health Organization (WHO), provided an overview of the interlinkages between climate change and health, included in the NWP. He highlighted, inter alia: health risks sensitive to climatic conditions, including extreme weather events, malaria, diarrhea and under-nutrition; projected changes in health impacts due to climate change; projected changes in disease distribution; direct and indirect health effects; risk of emerging infections; and temperature and productivity changes. Noting that health adaptation “does not start from scratch,” Campbell-Lendrum highlighted the increasing number of adaptation projects worldwide.

Tiffany Hodgson, UNFCCC Secretariat, provided an overview of the parties’ submissions. She highlighted emerging concerns, including geographical distribution of vector-borne and waterborne diseases, as well as malnutrition and disaster impacts.Hodgson further identified main challenges, namely surveillance and early-warning systems, knowledge on the climate-health nexus, intersectoral and transboundary engagement, implementation and funding, and capacity building and awareness raising.

Underscoring the insufficient understanding of the climate change impacts on health, Barney Dickson, UN Environment, highlighted the Lima Adaptation Knowledge Initiative, which aims to identify key adaptation knowledge gaps and facilitate action to address them.

During an interactive discussion during the second part of the event, participants identified health problems related to climate change and engaged in finding innovative actions to address them, including the responsible agent to perform those actions. Numerous actions were identified and transmitted to SBSTA Chair Fuller, who stressed the importance of new models and innovative ideas to support adaptation knowledge and action. The LEG highlighted the importance of coordination of all related actors to achieve the objective of the NWP. Underscoring the low level of awareness of the importance of vulnerabilities posed by climate change, the Consultative Group of Experts (CGE) stressed its role in building capacities and raising awareness.

Laurie Goering, Thomson-Reuters Foundation, moderated the side event, which examined new financial evidence and analysis on the likely returns on investment for smallholder farmers. She underscored that most countries have agriculture as part of their NDC and called for corresponding financial support in this sector.

Sonja Vermeulen, CCAFS, introduced a report titled, “The Economic Advantage: Assessing the Value of Climate-Change Actions in Agriculture.” She summarized the report’s main findings that, inter alia: economic and financial assessments are valuable tools to support decision making; there is a need to mainstream economic assessments in development and climate policies, including in agriculture; and there is a need for a mix of farm- and landscape-level actions, including for capacity building and policy work. She presented several case studies, underscoring the socio-economic benefits of new climate technologies and techniques for agricultural production.

Stating that agriculture is the "life span" of the Ugandan people, Chebet Maikut, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda, explained that agriculture is a key sector in the Ugandan climate policy and is included in the country’s NDC. He said addressing agriculture has several co-benefits, including mitigation and adaptation, as well as gender mainstreaming and human rights.

Stating that many agricultural studies do not take into account the “heterogeneity of populations” when offering advice, Peter Läderach, CIAT, proposed matching suggested interventions with the correct farm typologies, for example: considering whether farmers can afford particular suggested climate strategies; and remembering gender considerations in terms of who is in charge of farming and who takes decisions.

Imelda (Dada) Bacudo, Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) - German Programme on Response to Climate Change, called for better coordination between different ministries, including on finance, planning and agriculture, to ensure that climate finance is directed towards agriculture.

Expressing commitment to work with and strengthen farmers’ associations, including women’s cooperatives, Ilaria Firmian, IFAD, stated the existence of multiplier effects include the uptake of better practices.

The ensuing discussion addressed, inter alia: the need to further study how much investment is required; the competition for investment between agriculture and other sectors; how agriculture can deliver on investment and offer co-benefits; nature-based agriculture; the low number of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) in agriculture; risk transfer mechanisms and insurance for the impacts of climate change  on agriculture; the inclusion of food trees in climate smart agriculture (CSA) and capacity building to ensure investments pay off.

This session was opened by Johannes Cullman, World Meteorological Organization (WMO), and moderated thereafter by Karin Lexén, Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).

In a keynote address, Andres Tarand, former Prime Minister, Estonia, noted that viable information on water affects national, regional and international decision making on disaster risk management (DRM), health and the environment. He drew attention to mounting global water stresses which pose threats to peace and security, noting that competition for scarce water resources will increase in frequency. He stressed the need for a strong political message on hydroclimate services to address the challenges of climate change, security and development.

Irfan Tariq, Ministry of Climate Change, Pakistan, spoke on the value addition of hydroclimate services, noting that in times of floods there is a need to redirect flood waters to areas where water is most needed. In order to improve hydroclimate services for users, he stressed the need to understand their needs through, inter alia, social media and mobile phone interactions.

Hanadi Awadallah, Department of Afforestation and Reforestation, Sudan, stressed the need for hydroclimate services in the preparation of inter-ministerial national communication data to warn the population of future periods of water decline. She called for greater support for hydroclimate research, more sophisticated meteorological stations in the country and capacity building on the use of hydroclimate services.

Stefan Rösner, German Meteorological Service, stressed the importance of meteorological data informing hydrological planning processes. He noted the need for institutions and capacities to provide hydroclimate services, as well as the administrative authority to provide them. He drew attention to regional climate centers, but noted the need for trained staff to run these centers.

Ali Subah, Ministry of Water and Irrigation, Jordan, highlighted water scarcity in his country which is further impacted by the current refugee crisis, noting that the biggest challenge is drinking water. Subah then described a national water information system that includes all the data necessary for decision making for a wide range of sectors, noting the role of, and challenges posed by, transboundary water sources.

Demetrio Innocenti, Green Climate Fund (GCF), said that access to GCF funds is through accredited entities, and noted that many adaptation projects focus on hydrological-meteorological issues. He said that the GCF looks for projects that can generate transformational change but also those that can be operationalized and that are useful for the communities in which they are implemented.

In the ensuing discussion participants addressed, inter alia: how hydroclimatic services can be made accessible to users; and the need for accessible GCF financing for adaptation and mitigation. Carol Chouchani Cherfane, UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), closed the session.