Locally Led Adaption To Climate Change: The Start of a 10-Year Learning Journey
Our vision for a journey to promote locally led adaptation.
In early 2021, a fast-growing group of experts will meet in Gobeshona to define a 10-year learning agenda to advance principles for critical locally led adaption to climate change. Saleemul Huq and Clare Shakya explain the importance of this group and the journey ahead.
Collectively, the world has failed to respond to the triple crises of poverty, climate and nature at the scale and speed so desperately needed by the poorest communities. Going further and faster on climate action demands a whole-of-society response and requires more, and better quality, support.
The Netherlands Prime Minister Mark Ruffe, whose nation hosted the Climate Adaptation Summit 2021, was one of many leaders to advance critical shifts toward adaptation. Photo by EU2016 SK/Flickr
The Netherlands hosted the Climate Adaptation Summit (CAS) 2021, marking the first time world leaders gathered at a global event focused solely on adaptation and resilience. As a platform for new commitments and renewed affirmations, CAS served as a key steppingstone to other major climate events throughout 2021, including November’s COP26 in Glasgow.
The summit came at a time as climate impacts are accelerating around the world, disproportionately affecting vulnerable communities. In the last two decades, natural disasters linked to extreme weather accounted for 475,000 deaths and $2.6 trillion in damages. Many countries are still falling well behind targets set by the Paris Agreement and failing to adequately support countries most affected by climate change.
Forty governments, leading global institutions and local and international NGOs, including UN Development Programme, Climate Investment Funds, Zurich Investment Group, BRAC and Slum Dwellers International, have committed a new set of principles to ensure climate adaptation is led by local people. ‘ The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation ’ were recently launched at the Climate Adaptation Summit.
The International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), World Resources Institute (WRI), and International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) facilitated the Principles’ development with over 50 other organisations under the Global Commission for Adaptation, steered by commissioners Sheela Patel of Slum Dwellers International and BRAC executive director Dr Muhammad Musa.
RELEASE: 40 Governments and Leading Institutions Commit to Support Locally Led Climate Adaptation
Press Release - January 24, 2021
Climate emergency threatens to push 130 million people into extreme poverty by 2030, yet local people are often left out of decisions and funding; Momentum emerges to shift status quo
Forty governments, leading global institutions and local and international NGOs, including the United Kingdom and Irish governments, UN Development Programme, Climate Investment Funds, Zurich Investment Group, BRAC and Slum Dwellers International, have committed a new set of principles to ensure climate adaptation is led by local people. ‘The Principles for Locally Led Adaptation’ are launched today at the start of the Climate Adaptation Summit (25 January).
We must work together for adaptation and resilience to climate change
A fairer, greener and more inclusive world depends on it
Bangladesh is among countries that are highly vulnerable to climate change. The picture was taken in June 2009 in Satkhira, when cyclone Aila hit the coastal region. Photo: Reuters/Andrew Biraj
As the world works to recover from the devastating impacts of Covid-19, we must look at how we build back sustainably. Efforts to cope with climate shocks should be at the heart of this, because even if we stopped global warming tomorrow, countries around the world, including Bangladesh, will continue to feel the impacts. Without urgent action, 100 million people are at risk of being pushed into poverty by 2030 due to the impacts of climate change, primarily in South Asia as well as Sub-Saharan Africa.