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Potential future plans that would support the objectives of the Nairobi work programme are
highlighted below. These ideas still require approval from the IPCC and adequate support:
Expanding support for the five-year plan of action on adaptation
Up to the present, the DDC has primarily been oriented towards supporting users in the research
community who are conducting studies of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability that will subsequently
be assessed by IPCC Working Group II. As indicated above, the data and other information are
potentially useful to those working under the NWP, as well as to others preparing national reports
and other communications on these topics. The TGICA is currently interacting with potential users
from these groups to better understand their data needs and support requirements to determine what
would be required to make these resources more useful.
Development and provision of appropriate data products
Currently, climate and related socio-economic data and scenarios are frequently not available at the
time and spatial scales needed for research on impacts and adaptation in developing and
transition-economy countries. For example, for climate scenarios, GCM data tends to be made available
in the form of monthly means of selected variables. This poses a notable limitation on the many
aspects of impacts research and evaluation of adaptation options. TGICA is currently working to
identify and develop simple data sets and products that would be more accessible and appropriate for
use in computationally-limited developing and transition-economic settings.
Capacity building
TGICA and the DDC do not conduct training programs. With IPCC approval, the TGICA has, however,
developed a framework for capacity building in developing and transition-economy countries. The TGICA
framework relies on establishment of a network of post-doctoral or early career scientists located in
(1) capacity-rich developed countries, (2) capacity “middle class” developing countries,
(3) and capacity/resource-limited developing countries. The framework stresses mentorship and
guidance to provide practical experience in developing and disseminating appropriate data products
based on emerging resources. With support from researchers and institutions in capacity rich
countries, climate change data resources would be accessible to regional scientists in the
“capacity middle class”, who would be responsible for working with scientists and users
from “capacity limited” countries to create data resources relevant to their needs.
Currently, several institutions such as the System for Analysis, Research, and Training (START) are
exploring creation training and fellowship programs that are based on the TGICA model.
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