Transcript Portfolio Screening for Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change

Portfolio Screening for Mainstreaming
Adaptation to Climate Change
Richard J.T. Klein1,2, Siri E.H. Eriksen3, Lars Otto Næss4,5,
Anne Hammill6, Carmenza Robledo7,8, Karen L. O’Brien1
1 Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, Potsdam, Germany; 2 SEI–Oxford, Oxford, UK;
3 University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; 4 CICERO, Oslo, Norway; 5 University of East Anglia,
Norwich, UK; 4; 6 IISD, Geneva, Switzerland; 7 Intercooperation, Berne, Switzerland
8 Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Dübendorf, Switzerland
Paper presented at conference “Development Day”
Montreal, 3 December 2005
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Adaptation and development
co-operation
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Climate change may undermine development activities
(e.g. infrastructure, water, health, agriculture)
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Communities and ecosystems that are intended to benefite
from ODA may be vulnerable to climate change
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Development activities can affect vulnerability and
adaptive capacity
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…Emerging interest and follow-up from donor agencies
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‘Mainstreaming’
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Involves the integration of policies and
measures that address climate change into
development planning and ongoing sectoral
decision-making
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Ensures the long-term sustainability of
investments and reduces the sensitivity of
development activities to both today’s and
tomorrow’s climate
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Efficiency and effectiveness gains
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Mainstreaming adaptation
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Not only top-down integration of ‘traditional’
technology-based adaptation measures based
on future climate scenarios (e.g. sea walls,
promotion of drought resistant crops)
Also involves integration of measures that
address the underlying factors of vulnerability
and don’t unwittingly increase vulnerability to
climate variability and change (i.e.
maladaptation)
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Portfolio screening
Systematic examination of an agency’s set of
policies, programmes or projects, with the
aim of identifying the links between climate
change and an agency’s development
priorities, such as poverty reduction,
institutional development and capacity
building.
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Why portfolio screening?
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Identify linkages between climate change and an
agency’s development priorities/activities
Where there are experiences in dealing with climate
variability and change, identify options for building
on this (identify needs for capacity building)
Where the linkages appear weak, identify entry points
through which climate adaptation can be supported
Help operationalise linkages in the agency’s
development strategies and planning tools at different
levels
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Agency screenings to date
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Several agencies have conducted reviews or
screenings of their policies, strategies,
programmes or projects with respect to climate
change
World Bank, GTZ, NORAD, OECD, SDC
Summarise experiences and draw lessons for a
formalised portfolio screening tool to expand
focus on climate-development linkages
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Agency screenings:
Lessons from review of current
policies, programmes and projects
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Many linkages – climate change relevant to a
large share of agencies’ activities
Little or no consideration of climate change
vulnerability and adaptation, even in areas with
high current climate sensitivity
Climate change mainly seen as a mitigation
concern
Agency staff unclear on whether and how climate
links to their day-to-day work
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Agency screenings: Lessons from
screening processes
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Review policies and strategies (NORAD):
• + good basis for strategic discussions of links between ODA and climate
change
• - lack of links to practical development
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Review programmes and projects (GTZ, SDC, WB):
• + clearest on how to incorporate adaptation into practical ODA activities
• - less clear on strategic choices
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Country case studies (OECD):
• Clearest descriptions of country-specific climate change issues and links to
development agenda
• Country-specific screening less likely to be relevant in other areas and
countries
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Agency screenings:
Recommendations
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Need for practical tools for “climate proofing”
of development co-operation
Use current climate risks as a starting point
Focus on increased future flexibility
Integrate evaluation of climate change in
existing planning routines
Need for awareness raising within agencies
Use pilot activities to help implementation of
adaptation measures
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Challenges
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Reframing climate change from a predominantly
environmental issue to also a concern for poverty
reduction
Identifying linkages and balance between climate
change and other external stressors (economic
globalisation, demographic changes, health
challenges, other natural hazards)
Relate climate change to stakeholders’ concerns
Make use of past experiences with climatic variations
Develop tools that are cost-effective and adapted to
current modes of operation
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Outline of a portfolio screening…framework
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Work in progress
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Complement other screening tools (World Bank,
Danish Development Cooperation)
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Four general components:
• Identify links between climate and development activities –
types of assessment
• Compare against past and current activities
• Raise awareness
• Establish (other) conditions for success
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Identify Links…
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Defining parameters – scale, type of development
activity to be screened
Different ways of understanding links (esp at project
level)
• Risk Assessment: Quantifying the extent to which CC
impacts pose risk to cost-effectiveness and other aspects of
the viability of a project
• Vulnerability Assessment: Evaluating the vulnerability of
community/ecosystem at which project is targeted
• Environmental and Social Impact Assessment:
Analysing the extent to which a project would affect (pos
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or neg) a system’s vulnerability to climate change
Compare against past and current
activities
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Build on existing experiences in dealing with
climate risks
• Information, partnerships, coping and adaptation
strategies
• Assess capacity building needs
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Identify entry points
• Strategically
• Agency operations
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Raise awareness
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Climate stress
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Climate change
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Responses – mitigation and adaptation
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Make the direct link to development activities
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Establish conditions for success
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Within the agency
• Embedding screening within the agencies
• Cross-departmental cooperation
• Devising a strategy for implementing results across the
agency
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Outside the agency
• Sharing experiences and results with other development
agencies
• Co-ordinating the portfolio screening with other policy
processes
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Conclusions and the way forward
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Clear rationale for more attention to adaptation in
development agencies’ work
Large scope for mainstreaming by using past
experiences as well as current institutional set-up and
procedures
Mainstreaming is not about applying climate change
scenario(s) to current development interventions
Screening tool per se no panacea - process rather than
a finished product
Ultimately, screenings must address not only the way
interventions are undertaken, but also which
development pathways are chosen
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