Announcements
Announcements
The Adaptation Futures Conference series is the premier international conference devoted entirely to climate change adaptation, bringing together researchers, policymakers, practitioners, industry representatives and communicators to present their work in adaptation, learn what others are doing, and build networks.
SEI researchers will share their knowledge in several sessions. To attend, see the registration link and access the full programme for more details.
Child outdoors on a fall day, Canada. Photo: Cavan Images / Getty Images.
There is a growing understanding that climate adaptation and risk reduction strategies need to account for multiple hazards and their interrelationships (e.g., compound and cascading), as well as dynamics of exposure, vulnerability and responses across economic sectors, systems and borders. In addition, complex risks do not operate within system boundaries, with interconnected vulnerabilities, risks and impacts, underscoring the need to move from hazard-by-hazard and sectoral approaches to comprehensive all-hazard and multi-risk approaches of understanding, assessing and adapting to risks.
Given the prominence of the topic, there is a growing body of methodological advancements in assessing these types of risks and impacts. However, as the topic is gaining momentum, it is important to consider what needs to be done to transform cross-cutting scientific research into practical outcomes on the ground, ultimately informing adaptation action for a diverse set of stakeholders.
SEI speaker: Marlon Vieira Passos, Research Associate
In 2022, the European Union (EU) launched the Mission on Adaptation to Climate Change, to foster the climate resilience of regions, cities, citizens, and companies in Europe. The EU funded project, AGORA, brings together 13 partners from eight EU countries and the UK to support communities and citizens to accelerate their transformation to a climate resilient future.
The overarching objective of the session is to foster peer-to-peer learning on citizen and stakeholder engagement in adaptation planning and action. All insights will feed into the co-design of a ‘Digital Agora’, a toolbox of innova- tive mechanisms and approaches for inclusive climate governance and action. The co-created outputs of this session will also feed into the co-design of an evaluation framework for case study application and the implementation of the ‘Digital Agora’.
Participants:
Head of Knowledge Management, Senior Research Fellow
Global Operations
SEI Headquarters
Team Leader: Cities, Communities and Consumption; Senior Research Fellow
SEI Headquarters
The focus of this Knowledge Co-production session is on the evolution of digital Climate Adaptation Platforms (CAP) and how to better fund, sustain, and position these platforms to drive access to education and training, facilitate effective peer- to-peer networks, support knowledge-brokering, and provide other key services and support.
SEI is a partner organisation represented by Sukaina Bharwani, Senior Research Fellow and weADAPT Coordinator.
This session will draw on emerging and important insights from several areas of work on this subject, including GIZ and GEPA’s work on the implications of climate change on fair-trade value chains and potential solutions of how to address them, the UN Global Compact Think Lab’s work on just transition and supply chain resilience, and more in-depth assessments by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency, ICARUS and Maynooth University on transboundary climate risks and potential impact for Ireland. Together, the insights emerging from these findings provide a compelling overview of transboundary climate risks and their consequences on both global and local economies, as well as highlight the barriers and opportunities in time of pressing policy demands.
The session organisers invite participants to explore and discuss the interlinkages and shared risks for value chain actors, main barriers and potential opportunities and concrete approaches for solutions to climate-proof a supply chain.
SEI speaker: Mikael Allan Mikaelsson, Policy Fellow.
In our interconnected world, the impacts of climate change, adaptation or mitigation actions within one country can create risks to food security, trade and economic sectors in another – and can influence the adaptation options of other countries. We call these, collectively, ‘transboundary climate risks’ (TCRs).
This knowledge exchange session explores the implications of TCRs for adaptation planning, and the role that regional organisations can play in strengthening cooperation on adaptation and managing cross-border and cascading climate risks through regional adaptation plans. It exchanges knowledge about policy and actions to manage TCRs unfolding in the Sahel and in Europe, as well as other regions around the world. The session will do this by drawing on the experiences of three initiatives – the programme Supporting Pastoralism and Agriculture in Recurrent and Protracted Crises (SPARC), the project Cascading Climate Risks: Towards Adaptive and Resilient European Societies (CASCADES) and the global partnership Adaptation Without Borders (AWB) – as well as knowledge exchange with the audience.
SEI speaker: Frida Lager, Research Associate
The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) Sixth Assessment Report (2022) highlights for the first time justice as a core element of climate change adaptation, alongside effectiveness and feasibility. Recent development in policy also reflects the growing awareness and need of justice considerations in adaptation planning and action, Just resilience is for instance one of the key principles in the recent European Union Climate Adaptation Strategy (2021). We are grappling with the clear need to transition our societies away from our current unsustainable trajectories. This demands significant social change. Striving for transitions that are more just requires us to re- organise the way we adapt and mitigate.
Vulnerable people and systems often have less capacity and capabilities to adapt and are the least likely to be heard, recognised and prioritised in adaptation processes, resulting in fewer benefits from adaptation actions. The lack of justice considerations and due processes can also result in ‘maladaptation’ resulting in redistribution of burdens or even enhancing risk for regions or groups. This is daunting, especially considering that those disproportionately affected have often contributed the least to causing climate change in the first place.
The aim of this session is to bring together experiences and approaches on how to embed justice in global and local climate change practices. We could learn a lot from the overarching concepts of climate justice.
SEI speaker: Frida Lager, Research Associate
Head of Knowledge Management, Senior Research Fellow
Global Operations
SEI Headquarters
Team Leader: Cities, Communities and Consumption; Senior Research Fellow
SEI Headquarters
Initiative / The initiative explores implications of transboundary climate risks and strengthens cooperation to meet the global challenge of adaptation to climate change.
Project / CAScading Climate risks: towards ADaptive and resilient European Societies – an EU H2020 project assessing the interconnected impacts of climate change.
Project / AGORA will support the adaptation to climate change by leveraging and step-forwarding best practices, innovative approaches and policy instruments.
Project / The project will examine how exposure and vulnerability to multiple water hazards lead to different types of impacts on infrastructures and populations.
Feature / Frida Lager discusses the journey towards just resilience in European climate adaptation using the context of urban areas to illustrate some key findings.
Feature / The Global Transboundary Climate Risk Report provides insights on 10 transboundary climate risks that remain overlooked in climate policies.
Other publication / This brief offers five recommendations for businesses to improve the sustainability and resilience of their supply chains through a just transition.
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