Background

As humans experience more and more climate change impacts, evidenced by melting glaciers, droughts, heat waves, floods, and extreme weather events from around the world, it is evident that strong response to adapt and build resilience is more needed than ever. Technologies and innovation could help, in particular those that offer transformative – instead of incremental – approach to adaptation. Transformative approach would require innovative thinking beyond the status-quo, engagement of key stakeholders along the process and investment of capacity and further resources.

As part of its new rolling workplan for 2023-2027, and building on its previous work on innovative approaches on adaptation technologies, the TEC has envisaged a specific activity to address “emerging and transformational adaptation technologies”, with the aim of identifying and analysing emerging and transformational technologies for adaptation (e.g. early warning systems and disaster risk management), including the role of finance and the private sector in supporting their deployment.

Early warning systems (EWS) are key elements of disaster risk reduction, and are widely regarded as the “low-hanging fruit” for climate change adaptation because they are a relatively cheap and effective way of protecting people and assets from hazards, including storms, floods, heatwaves and tsunamis to name a few. The “Early Warnings for All” initiative launched by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022, and the associated Executive Action Plan spearheaded  by the WMO and partners announced at COP27, shed light on the fundamental role that technology can play to enhance capacity of countries to detect hazards, close the observations gap, and ensure that early warnings reach the last mile.

Against this background, and in continuation of a session co-organized by TEC and YOUNGO at G-STIC Dubai in 2021, this event seeks to convene a multi-stakeholder dialogue on emerging and transformational technologies for early warning systems, including the co-benefits for advancing climate adaptation and SDGs.

Objectives

The session aims to provide an engaging space for exchange of information and views among various stakeholders -research and academic communities, practitioners, the private sector, funding institutions, UN entities, as well as youth, women, local communities and other vulnerable groups- to shed light on:

1) Emerging and transformative technologies for advancing Multi-Hazard Early Warning Systems;
2) Challenges, opportunities, and  good practices for the deployment of such technologies; and
3) Ensuring people-centred and inclusive approaches in deploying technologies for early warnings, leaving no one behind.

The TEC will also use this opportunity to gather views of stakeholders and potential partners on its future work on the topic of early warning systems, and on emerging and transformative adaptation technologies at large.