Navigation for negotiation

Wednesday, 07 July 2010 18:06

SEI report provides tools for delegates to find their way through international talks on climate change adaptation.

In 2009 a team of SEI researchers prepared a report that gives climate change negotiators a comprehensive picture of the challenges around adaptation finance, as well as setting out realistic ways to confront them.

The value of the report became clear at COP15 in Copenhagen. Delegates – from developed and developing countries alike – relied on the report as a one-stop information resource to help them navigate the complex negotiations on adaptation finance.

Putting adaptation high up on the agenda
The Bali Action Plan was adopted in 2007 at the United Nations climate summit in Bali. The Plan put adaptation to climate change high up on the political agenda, and laid the groundwork for international negotiations on how to pay for adaptation action to protect poorer countries from climate change impacts.

But it was soon obvious that adaptation finance is one of the thorniest issues in the climate change negotiations, marred by suspicion and uncertainty.

Why? Simply put, there is mistrust between the developing and developed world over money commitments, and no-one is sure exactly how much money will be needed to help countries adapt, or where the money should come from.

How to manage adaptation finance
The report, titled Adaptation Finance under a Copenhagen Agreed Outcome, asks how enough money can be generated to meet adaptation needs, how that money should be managed, and how it can best be delivered to developing countries.

It also identifies policy options that promote a fair, efficient and flexible process of international adaptation funding.

The report is based on three years of in-depth background work by SEI.