UN Climate Change News, 22 September 2021 – Technology development and transfer is essential for governments to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change in accordance with the Paris Agreement.
Technology also plays a key role in implementing countries’ national climate action plans, known as NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions).
The Technology Executive Committee (TEC) held an event on 6 September, where experts addressed the topic of ‘Ecosystems and Technology: Innovative approaches to strengthening coastal and ocean adaptation.’
The event was organized in conjunction with IUCN World Conservation Congress and with the collaboration of IUCN FEBA and the Nairobi Work Programme (NWP) - the UN Climate Change Knowledge-to-Action Hub for Climate Adaptation and Resilience.
With extreme weather events around the world becoming more frequent, the ability to adapt to the consequences of climate change is becoming ever more important – and this applies notably to coastlines, where the bulk of the human population lives.
Over the next 20 years, an estimated USD 94 trillion will be spent on infrastructure globally. Rigid regulatory and funding policies, designed with unsustainable infrastructure in mind, maintain the status quo.
Better national climate policies and funding mechanisms, local land-use and marine planning and zoning, building codes and engineering guidelines are crucial for a more sustainable environment.
Governments can start building the mechanisms needed to shape sustainable, effective and integrated adaptation strategies through their NDCs, National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), marine spatial planning and other country-level plans.
Acknowledging that the window of opportunity to tackle the climate crisis is closing fast, Wanna Tanunchaiwatana, Manager, Means of Implementation, UN Climate Change, said: “We need to scale up our efforts in climate adaptation and building resilience. The Paris Agreement calls for cooperative action in enhancing technology development and transfer. Working together will ensure not only inclusivity, but also that we tackle climate issues in a coordinated manner.”
See report of the event here.
The TEC will organize a second ocean and coastal adaptation event in October 2021 in collaboration with the NWP and IUCN. This event will focus on innovative approaches to support countries in implementing both their NAPs and NDCs.