Introduction

Adaptation and resilience
Loss and damage

The world is already experiencing changes in average temperature, shifts in the seasons and an increasing frequency of extreme weather events and other climate change impacts and slow onset events. The faster the climate changes, and the longer adaptation efforts are put off, the more difficult and expensive it could be.

Adaptation refers to adjustments in ecological, social, or economic systems in response to actual or expected climatic stimuli and their effects or impacts. It refers to changes in processes, practices, and structures to moderate potential damages or to benefit from opportunities associated with climate change. In simple terms, countries and communities need to develop adaptation solution and implement action to respond to the impacts of climate change that are already happening, as well as prepare for future impacts.

Adaptation solutions take many shapes and forms, depending on the unique context of a community, business, organization, country or region. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all-solution’—adaptation can range from building flood defences, setting up early warning systems for cyclones and switching to drought-resistant crops, to redesigning communication systems, business operations and government policies. Many nations and communities are already taking steps to build resilient societies and economies, but considerably greater action and ambition will be needed to cost-effectively manage the risks, both now and in the future.

Successful adaptation not only depends on governments but also on the active and sustained engagement of stakeholders including national, regional, multilateral and international organizations, the public and private sectors, civil society and other relevant stakeholders, as well as effective management of knowledge. Adaptation to the impacts of climate change may be undertaken across various regions, and sectors, and at various levels.

Parties to the UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement recognize that adaptation is a global challenge faced by all with local, subnational, national, regional and international dimensions. It is a key component of the long-term global response to climate change to protect people, livelihoods and ecosystems. Parties acknowledge that adaptation action should follow a country-driven, gender-responsive, participatory and fully transparent approach, considering vulnerable groups, communities and ecosystems, and should be based on and guided by the best available science and, as appropriate, traditional knowledge, knowledge of indigenous peoples and local knowledge systems, with a view to integrating adaptation into relevant socioeconomic and environmental policies and actions.

How do parties address adaptation?

The figure above shows graphically the adaptation cycle under the UN climate change regime, including four general components, which are individually featured under the SPOTLIGHT section (at the bottom of this page).

Within the UN climate change regime, Parties carry out adaptation-related activities in a number of workstreams, through work programmes and in specialized groups and committees. These include:

National adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs)

In 2001, at COP 7 in Marrakesh, Parties acknowledged the specific needs of least developed countries (LDCs), in that they are least capable of dealing with the adverse effects of climate change, and adopted a dedicated package of decisions to support them. The LDC work programme includes, among other things, national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs). Through their NAPAs, the LDCs identify priority activities that respond to their urgent and immediate adaptation needs. The Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) was established to support the programme’s implementation. The LDCs are also supported by a Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) that provides technical support and advice.

Find more information on the NAPAs via the dedicated website.

National Adaptation Plans

The COP established the national adaptation plan (NAP) process at COP 16 (2010) to enable Parties to formulate and implement NAPs as a means of identifying medium- and long-term adaptation needs and developing and implementing strategies and programmes to address those needs. It is a continuous, progressive and iterative process which follows a country-driven, gender-sensitive, participatory and fully transparent approach. In order to enhance the availability of adaptation support, the COP in 2015 requested the Green Climate Fund to expedite support for the formulation and implementation of national adaptation plans.

Find more information on the NAPs via the dedicated website.

Adaptation Committee

The COP established the Adaptation Committee (AC) at COP 16 (2010) to promote the implementation of enhanced action on adaptation in a coherent manner under the Convention. The functions of the AC include: providing technical support and guidance to the Parties; sharing relevant information, knowledge, experience and good practices; promoting synergy and strengthening engagement; providing information and recommendations for consideration by the COP; and considering information communicated by Parties on their monitoring and review of adaptation actions.

Find more information on the AC via the dedicated website.

The Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG)

The Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) was established by the COP in 2001. The LEG is requested by the COP to provide technical support and advice to the least developed countries (LDCs) on the national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs) and the LDC work programme and to provide technical guidance and support to the national adaptation plan (NAP) process.

Find more information on the NAPAs via the dedicated website.

Nairobi work programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change

The Nairobi work programme (NWP) was established at COP 11 (2005), under the SBSTA, to facilitate and catalyze the development and dissemination of information and knowledge that would inform and support adaptation policies and practices. Through its diverse range of modalities, the NWP provides unique opportunities for linking relevant institutions, processes, resources and expertise outside the Convention to respond to adaptation knowledge needs arising from the implementation of the various workstreams under the Convention and identified by Parties.

Find more information on the NAPAs via the dedicated website.

Technical Examination Process on Adaptation

The technical examination process on adaptation (TEP-A) was established at COP 21 (2015) as part of the enhanced action prior to 2020. The TEP-A will take place during 2016-2020, featuring technical expert meetings, technical papers and other events, and its objective is to identify concrete opportunities for strengthening resilience, reducing vulnerabilities, and increasing the understanding and implementation of adaptation actions

International cooperation on adaptation also includes, of course, financial, technology, and capacity-building support for adaptation. The relevant arrangements of the UN climate change regime in this regard are explained in the sections on climate finance, technology transfer, and capacity-building.

Find more information on the NAPAs via the dedicated website.

adaptation

Human-induced climate change, including more frequent and intense extreme events, has caused widespread adverse impacts and related losses and damages to nature and people beyond natural climate variability. Some development and adaptation efforts have reduced vulnerability, but the rise in weather and climate extremes has led to some irreversible impacts as natural and human systems are pushed beyond their ability to adapt.

Loss and damage arising from the adverse effects of climate change can include those related to extreme weather events but also slow onset events, such as sea level rise, increasing temperatures, ocean acidification, glacial retreat and related impacts, salinization, land and forest degradation, loss of biodiversity and desertification.

Acknowledging that loss and damage includes, and in some cases involves more than, that which can be reduced by adaptation, COP 19 established the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage. Since then, it has been serving as the main catalyzer under the UNFCCC process for enhancing knowledge, coherence, action and support to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change.

In the broadest understanding, all efforts being taken to curb the global average temperature increase and to adapt to the adverse effects of climate change can contribute to preventing or reducing the risks of loss and damage associated with climate change borne by societies and individuals.

Article 8 of the Paris Agreement enshrines the importance of averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage and the role of sustainable development in reducing the risk of loss and damage. It identifies the following areas of cooperation and facilitation to enhance understanding, action and support with regard to loss and damage:

●   Early warning systems
         ●   Emergency preparedness
         ●   Slow onset events
         ●   Events that may involve irreversible and permanent loss and damage
         ● Non-economic losses
         ●   Events that may involve irreversible and permanent loss and damage
         ●   Resilience of communities, livelihoods and ecosystems

As synthesized by the IPCC, the latest science tells us that near-term actions that limit global warming to close to 1.5°C would substantially reduce projected losses and damages related to climate change in human systems and ecosystems but cannot eliminate them all. Further adaptation does not prevent all losses and damages, even with effective adaptation.

Within the UN Climate Change regime, Parties carry out loss and damage-related activities through the following:

Executive Committee and thematic expert groups

The COP established the Executive Committee (ExCom) of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage at Cop 19 to guide the implementation of the three functions of the Mechanism. It does so through its five-year rolling workplan. Currently, three expert groups, a technical expert group and a task force, serve in an advisory role and assist ExCom in the following broad workstreams: slow onset events, non-economic losses, comprehensive risk management approaches, human mobility, and action and support.

Through the thematic expert groups, ExCom engages a large number of experts, as well as implementing agencies, organizations, and networks, with relevant expertise. In addition to specific technical areas of work, the groups collaborate on some activities, such as developing technical guides that aim to help stakeholders at different levels and scales toward relevant materials in the domain of the workstreams of the Warsaw International Mechanism. The materials would cover risk assessments and how the resulting loss and damage can be approached.

Find more information on the ExCom and thematic expert groups via the dedicated webpage(s) >>>.

Santiago network for technical assistance

COP 25 established the Santiago Network to catalyze technical assistance of relevant organizations, bodies, networks, and experts for the implementation of relevant approaches for averting, minimizing and addressing loss and damage at the local, national and regional levels in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. A set of functions of the Network was agreed upon at COP 26 to facilitate the provision of needs-based technical assistance in developing countries.

Find more information on the Santiago network via the dedicated webpage >>>.

Fiji Clearinghouse for Risk Transfer

COP 21 requested ExCom to establish a clearinghouse for risk transfer that serves as a repository for information on insurance and risk transfer to facilitate Parties' efforts to develop and implement comprehensive risk management strategies. The clearinghouse was launched at COP 23 and is named the Fiji Clearinghouse for Risk Transfer. It contains information on, among others, institutions that could help countries design and implement risk transfer approaches, case studies and tutorials.

Find more information on the Fiji Clearinghouse for Risk Transfer >>>.

Glasgow Dialogue

COP 26 established the Glasgow Dialogue between Parties, relevant organizations, and stakeholders to discuss the arrangements for the funding of activities to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with the adverse impacts of climate change. The dialogue takes place each year at the first session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation until it is concluded at its sixtieth session (SB 60, June 2024).

Find information on the first Glasgow Dialogue, which took place at the 56^th session of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (June 2022) >>>.

Transitional Committee

COP 27 and CMA 4 established new funding arrangements and a fund for assisting developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, in responding to loss and damage. The fund includes a focus on addressing loss and damage.

A transitional committee on the operationalization of the new funding arrangements was established, to make recommendations for consideration and adoption by COP28 and CMA5.

Find more information on the Transitional Committee via the dedicated webpage>>>.