Stakeholder engagement workshop on strengthening the capacities for observation and risk assessment in the context of loss and damage associated with climate change

Date

Tuesday 29 October - Wednesday 30 October

Venue

Langer Eugen Building, floor 23, room 12 (LE 23.12) Platz der Vereinten Nationen 1, 53113 Bonn, Germany

The Paris Agreement identifies the need for an effective and progressive response to climate change on the basis of the best available scientific and local knowledge. The need to enhance and strengthen systematic observation, climate services and knowledge sharing is specifically recognized in Article 7 of the Agreement. Among others, Article 8 further identifies the need for early warning systems and comprehensive risk assessment and management as areas of cooperation and facilitation to enhance understanding, action and support.

The stakeholder engagement workshop is convened in response to the strategic workstream (c) of the five-year rolling workplan of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage associated with Climate Change Impacts.

Activity 4 of workstream (c) aims to facilitate stakeholder engagement and capacity-building on Comprehensive Risk Management (CRM) approaches by coordinating with regional and global research programmes and organizations, as appropriate, such as the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to facilitate capacity building for enhanced observation and risk assessment in the context of loss and damage.

The workplan invites relevant organizations and agencies to discuss how national and regional capacities could be enhanced to avert, minimize and address loss and damage. By sharing their expertise, experience and relevant practices, participants at the workshop will identify and discuss ways to facilitate capacity-building for observation and risk assessment.

The workshop is organized in collaboration with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the WMO.

Objectives

The collaborative stakeholder engagement workshop will aim:

To share experiences of good practice and lessons learnt from regional, national, subnational and local governments to address climate risks.
To identify ways to address capacity gaps related to climate risk observations and assessment at the global level as well as learn from national experiences with a view to enhance national and regional capacities.

Indicative Agenda


Day 1
8:30 - 9:00	Registration
9:00 - 9:30	Introduction Welcome remarks by organizers of the workshop.
9:30 - 10:00	Session 1: Understanding of comprehensive risk management from the perspective of science This session will focus on the understanding of how science can be translated into policy, and drive action to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts, taking into consideration uncertainty. Joint presentation on understanding of risks by Ms. Zinta Zommers, UNDRR Sect., Mr. Maarten van Aalst, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies/ University of Twente and Ms. Koko Warner, UNFCCC Sect. Intended Output: Heightened awareness on risk-informed planning for CRM
10:00 - 10:15	Coffee Break and Family Photo
10:15 - 12:00	Session 2: Multi-hazard early warning systems (MHEWSs) for extreme and slow-onset events This session will feature presentations on country and regional experiences on state of MHEWSs (global, regional and national levels) for key drivers of climate risks and how to build MHEWSs capable of providing systematic risk information to decision makers. Panelists: Experts from operational national and sub-regional early warning systems, Hydrometeorological and Disaster Risk Reduction Mr. Michel Staudinger, President of the Regional Association VI (Europe)/ Permanent Representative of Austria to WMO/ Director of Central Institute of Meteorology and Geodynamics, Austria Ms. Julia Chasco, Head of Meteorology and Society Department of the National Meteorological Service of Argentina, Chair of SERA Working Group (Societal and Economic Research Application) from World Weather Research Program (WWRP), WMO (Presentation) Mr. John Harding, Head, Climate Risk and Early Warning Systems, WMO (Presentation) Mr. Mussa Mustafa, Deputy Director-General, National Institute of Meteorology, Mozambique (Presentation) Intended Output: Exchange information on how countries are developing MHEWSs and the type of technical and institutional support needed to enhance capacities to implement MHEWSs.
12:00 - 13:00	Lunch
13:00 - 14:30	Session 3: Climate information and monitoring systems This session will take a closer look at climate information and monitoring systems, its role in short to long-term planning and the WMO Cataloguing of Hazardous Events, including linking losses and damages to hazards as a way to improve monitoring. Panelists: Experts from national and regional climate centers and national disaster management offices Mr. Stefan Rösner, Head Division Regional Climate, Deutscher Wetterdienst (From climate monitoring to climate watch – Europe’s approach and challenges) Mr. James Douris, Project Officer WMO (Linking climate extremes and impacts via cataloguing of hazardous events) Intended Output: Identification of the requirements for monitoring climate risks and impacts and the technical, financial and institutional support needed to enhance capacity for implementation where needed.
14:30 - 15:00	Coffee Break
15:00 - 16:00	Session 3: Climate information and monitoring systems (continued) Open plenary discussion on key out-takes from session 1-3 and participant feedback Within the context of loss and damage, participants will discuss in an open plenary format the key gaps and needs from the first three sessions, and identify opportunities to link hydrometeorological, climate observations and forecasting.
Day 2
9:00 - 10:30	Session 4: Comprehensive risk assessment This session will explore how multiple risks can be considered in comprehensive risk assessments that take into account the issues of scales (time, global, regional, national and local), exploring capacity gaps and ways to facilitate capacity for comprehensive risk assessments. Panelists: Mr. Idy Niang Chargé de Programme sur le Climat, Direction de l'Environnement et des Etablissements Classes, Senegal Mr. Colin McQuistan, Senior Advisor on Climate Change and DRR, Practical Action (Presentation) Mr. Soenke Kreft, Executive Director, Munich Climate Insurance Initiative (Presentation) Ms. Ainara Casajus Valles, Project Officer, Scientific Research, Joint Research Centre, European Commission (Presentation) Ms. Solveig Schindler, Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH (Presentation) Ms. Eileen Turare, PCRAFI II Project Manager and Ms. Litea Biukoto, Team Leader-Risk Reduction, Pacific Community (Presentation)
10:30 - 10:45	Coffee Break
10:45 - 12:15	Session 4: Comprehensive risk assessment (continued) Parallel break-out group discussions Participants will divide into breakout groups to identify challenges, data gaps and institutional processes to scale up action and cooperation. Intended Output: Identification of national and regional capacity gaps and ways to facilitate capacity for comprehensive risk assessments to avert, minimize and address loss and damage associated with climate change.
12:15 - 13:00	Lunch
13:00 - 14:30	Session 5: Turning risk assessments into risk management This session will focus on the use of risk assessments development planning, including applications for adaptation planning, DRR strategies, highlighting ways to achieve coherence between sectors. Panelists: Specialists on climate risk management and policy integration and from research institutions, government representatives Mr. Jerome Ilagan, Chief, Policy Research and Development Division, Climate Change Commission, The Philippines (Presentation) Profa Dra.Danyelle Stringari, Centro Universitário de Estudos e Pesquisas sobre Desastres (Presentation) Ms. Valeria Dringo, Advocacy and Learning Coordinator, Global Network of Civil Society Organisations for Disaster Reduction (Presentation) Mr. Shukri Ahmed, Deputy Strategic Programme Leader, FAO (Presentation) Intended Output: Identification of challenges of using risk assessments and ways to apply this coherently to national policy planning processes.
	Rolling Coffee Break
14:30 - 14:45	Reporting on the key outcomes of the parallel breakout group discussions
14:45 - 16:30	Session 6: Entry points for promoting and scaling up comprehensive risk management The focus of this session is to synthesize knowledge and information on ways to continually identify and address capacity gaps in countries to enhance capacity building for CRM approaches in the context of loss and damage, where needed. Panelists: WIM Excom Member/TEG-CRM Champion(s), Least Developed Countries Expert Group, Government representative, and UNDRR Ms. Le-Anne Roper, TEG-CRM Champion Mr. Benon Bibbu Yassin, Least Developed Countries Expert Group Member (Presentation). Mr. David Stevens, Head Officer, Secretariat of the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (Presentation) Intended Output: Identification of ways WIM TEG-CRM could provide ideas and examples for measures for enhancing CRM capacity to relevant policy processes.
16:30- 17:00	Next steps and close Summary of key messages and recommendations. AOB

Format

The workshop will be organized in six parts, featuring panels, presentations and interactive discussions among experts and practitioners.

Participants

The workshop will bring together experts, practitioners, policy makers involved in the observation and risk assessment, including experts that are involved in the development of climate change adaptation initiatives and provision of metrological, early warnings, disaster risk reduction services. Indicative participants of the stakeholder engagement workshop include UNFCCC constituted bodies, government representatives, the UN, NGOs, development agencies, research organizations and members of the Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management (TEG-CRM).